Finding Happiness
by tater06
Summary: Kuki's life is full of loneliness and misery. She has lost all confidence, and has grown shy, scared, and incredibly sad. All she wants is happiness. And Wallabee Beetles will be the person to give it to her. FINISHED. Last chapter in three parts.
1. Introductory Chapter

_Finding Happiness_

Nobody cared about Kuki Sanban. Her parents were rarely ever home, because they were too busy working on some big project or attending a big meeting at work. Her sister had turned into a rebel, wearing black clothing and always skipping school or sneaking out of her house to be with her boyfriend, Sandy. Not a day went by without Mushi telling Kuki how much she hated her.

School was no better. She couldn't get through the hallway without her peers slamming into her, either purposefully or accidentally. Either way, they never cared or gave her an apology. They always treated her like scum. They called her names, pulled pranks on her, spread rumors about her, and so many other dreadful things. She had no friends.

It had been that way for Kuki ever since middle school at thirteen years old. The strangest think was, Kuki couldn't remember anything before she turned thirteen. Sure, she remembered going to school and things with her family, but she couldn't remember anything else. She couldn't remember her friends, what she did, nothing.

In her first year of middle school she was excited, eager to make new friends. She bought the coolest clothes and fresh new school supplies, thinking the year would be great.

She was so, so wrong.

She tried to make friends, but every time she tried to make friends or talk to people, they just ignored her or told her to go away. She couldn't sit at a lunch table with other students. If she did, they always gave her a cold, hard stare until she got up and moved. She sat at a table in a dark corner of the lunchroom, alone.

She was always alone.

Nobody ever talked to her. Nobody ever asked her how she was doing or feeling. She tried to open up to her parents, but they would just say things like, "Not now, Kuki, I'm busy," or "I don't have time to talk honey, maybe later," or something similar to that. She wasn't happy anywhere. Her school counselor, Mrs. Watson, would just say, "Oh, things will come around, you'll see." She couldn't see a therapist because she didn't have the money for it, and she knew her parents wouldn't have the time for it.

She soon lost her happy-go-lucky personality and love of life.

She was always miserable.

Luckily, she knew she would never go so far as to commit suicide. She still valued her life enough to not want to die.

But she hated herself. She hated everything about herself. She would stare in the mirror crying, telling herself things. "You don't amount to anything," she would scold herself. "Nobody loves you, nobody ever will. You're as worthless as trash."

Her peers at school would tell her this too.

Many nights she cried herself to sleep, and sometimes her sister's snickering. Mushi enjoyed her sister's sadness.

_Why? _she thought to herself everyday. _What did I do to deserve this? _

But no matter what happened, she always had a little hope. A hope that one day she would meet someone to talk to, to be with, someone who actually cared about her. Someone that would make her…..

Happy.

Little did she know that she would meet someone that would change her life in her Sophomore year of high school when she was sixteen years old.

* * *

Sixteen-year-old Wallabee Beetles tossed various videogames, clothes, shoes, posters, music, movies, and his other things into boxes carelessly, not really caring if it was organized or not. _This sucks, _he thought with a sigh. _Here I am packing when I could be doing something, oh, I dunno, fun. _

"Wallabee!" Mrs. Beetles shouted up the stairs. "Are you almost done? We only have a few days before moving back to Clevelaaaand!"

Wallabee sighed again. "Yes mom!" he shouted back. "Don't worry, I'll be done in time!"

"I hope so! Or else you'll have to leave everything you didn't pack behind, and I don't think ya want that, do ya?!"

"No!"

"Well then, good! Dinner will be ready soon, by the way!"

"Okay mom! Got it!"

Wally was, as you already know, getting ready to move to Cleveland in a few days. He had lived there before, of course. When he was just two years old he and his parents had moved there from Australia. He always considered Cleveland his home, even though he was a pure Aussie. He didn't remember exactly why he loved Cleveland so much, actually. He moved back to Australia when he was thirteen, and for some reason, he didn't remember much before that. He didn't remember friends or what he did in his free time, or anything.

Luckily Wally hadn't changed a lot. He was still a tough guy, not afraid of anything or anybody. He had developed some nice muscles, and was much, much taller. If there was one thing Wally remembered, he used to be a short kid, so you could imagine how happy he was now that he was taller.

He did change in some ways, though. He wasn't as idiotic as he used to be; he could read and do basic math, and spell simple everyday words. He didn't have the best of grades, but he managed to get by. He also didn't hate girls as much. Granted, he didn't hang out with them, and he never really _liked _one, but he could stand them.

Sometimes.

Wally was excited to go back to Cleveland. His dad decided that he had missed his old job and decided to move back. He wanted to see his old neighborhood, and maybe find out some things about his childhood that he had forgotten. Sure, he would miss his friends in Australia, but he wasn't devastated to leave. He was quite happy.

Not that he showed it.

* * *

_Passengers of flight A-2713, we are now boarding._

Wallabee and his family picked up their travel bags and headed towards the line to their plane.

"Isn't this exciting?" Mr. Beetles asked. "You boys will be so happy to be back in good ol' Cleveland, 'ey?"

Wally shoved his hands in his pockets, muttering a "Meh." His younger brother Joey, now six years old, smiled. "Yeah!" he exclaimed, his hands in the air. Wally smiled briefly at his brother's eagerness. Secretly, he was just as excited as his brother was.

_I wonder what it will be like, back in Cleveland? _he wondered to himself. _Will it be a lot better there than here?_

He pondered these thoughts more as he entered the plane, waiting for his new life to begin.

He had no idea that he would meet the love of his life back in Cleveland.

* * *

**That's right, people, I'm back. I thought I'd never write KND fanfics ever again, but this idea has been in my mind for a VERY long time, and I decided to let myself write it and post it. This chapter is very depressing, I know, but I hope you like this fic. I'm really excited about it. All I want you to do is pretend that there is no such thing as the Teens Next Door, and Kuki and Wally had there memories erased. Also, Hoagie, Nigel, and Abby will not be in this story. Just pretend that they moved away. **

**I hope you like this and read more. Please review. Oh, and KND does not belong to me, by the way.**


	2. First Day of School

**Thanks to all my great reviewers! You guys rock! I'm really happy to be back, it feels right! I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter, I'm really excited about this story. So let's get on with it, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door. If I did it would NOT BE OVER.**

**Finding Happiness**

Chapter 2: First Day of School

There Gallagher High School stood, tall and proud, sunlight glistening off the freshly cleaned windows, ready to start another year of high-quality education. Teens were crowded around the building, greeting their friends. Boys high-fived each other, while the girls let out high screeches, hugging each other, jumping up and down.

"Yo! Wassup, dude? How was your summer?"

"Pretty nice, man. I'm goin' out with Janie Wilson now."

"No way!"

"Yeah, I know!"

"Oh my gosh, Tracy, your tan is _gorgeous!_"

"Thank you, Kayla! And wow, did you get highlights? You're a total babe!"

"Hee hee!"

Conversations such as these were heard everywhere, all excited and lively. Everyone was happy to see their friends, although they were dreading the whole going-to-school part.

That is, everyone was happy except for Kuki Sanban.

_Maybe this year will finally be different, _she thought, her arms wrapped around herself. She was standing farther away from everyone else, standing behind a big, shady tree. _Maybe I'll finally meet someone that will be my friend. Maybe this is the year where I finally won't be so….lonely. _She peeked out from behind the tree, watching her peers reunite with one another.

She felt a pang in her heart at the sight of it. She felt this pang almost every time she entered the school, seeing all those close friends. Kuki wasn't quite sure exactly what the feeling was. Was it sadness? Jealousy? Anger? Desperation? A combination of them all? Thinking about it made her head ache.

_No! _she screamed in her head. _Calm down, Kuki. The year hasn't started yet. Don't lose hope! You've always had a little bit of hope….._

She took a deep breath, in through her nose, and out through her mouth. Holding onto the straps of her backpack, she stepped out from behind the tree and headed to the crowd. The bell rung, and the doors to the school opened. Everyone headed inside.

* * *

"OUTTA THE WAY, OUTCAST!" shouted a tall boy, purposefully shoving Kuki to the side, making her stumble.

"Hey, don't block me you idiot!" A girl wearing a skirt that was far past inappropriate for school said, slamming into her side, sending her back to where she once stood.

"Hey loser, watch where you're going!" yelled another. He pushed Kuki so hard that she slammed into a locker, and _hard. _She winced in pain and pushed up the sleeve of her green sweater. A bruise was slowly forming on her upper arm.

She stood out of everyone's way until the halls were near empty. _I'm going to be late for class…._ She started to walk to her destination as soon as she felt it was safe.

"Well well well, if it isn't our favorite little outsider!"

Kuki's eyes widened. She knew that voice. She had heard it too many times in her life not to recognize it. It was high-pitched, but had an evilly charming ring to it. She turned her head, and found that she was correct.

Brooke Sanders.

Brooke Sanders was the most gorgeous, most perfect, most popular girl in not only Gallagher High, but in all the other high schools in the region as well. Her bleached blonde hair framed her beautiful, clear, blue-eyed face, her bangs swept to the side. She was wearing size 0 jeans that she probably had bought for two-hundred dollars or more, making her legs flawless. Her upper body was just as perfect, wearing a tight blue blouse that hugged her body in all the right places. Jewelry shined all over her body.

Kuki gulped, feeling underdressed in her simple green long-sleeved shirt and black pants. A knot formed in her stomach. Not only was Brooke there, but her almost-as-beautiful wannabe friends surrounded her as well.

"Goodness Kuki, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" she exclaimed with fake enthusiasm, walking closer to her. "You know, one of the exciting things about the first day of school is seeing just how much everyone has changed over the summer. But my, you haven't changed a _bit!" _

Her best friend and personal lackey, Delilah Johnston, snorted. "Yeah, not a _bit!_" she repeated, flipping her short red hair.

"Girls, would you look at this?!" Brooke said, fingering Kuki's raven-black hair. "Kuki, your hair still looks like a rat's nest! Look at all those split ends!"

Her minions laughed, agreeing.

Kuki just stood there as stiff as a statue, an embarrassed look on her face.

"And your _skin!_ Do you hate the beach or is your skin always this pale and pasty? And don't even get me started on that witch-like nose of yours!" More shrieks of laughter.

Kuki shut her eyes, trying to pretend they weren't there, using all her might not to cry.

Of course, Brook noticed this. "Aaaw, it's okay Kuki!" she said with fake sympathy. "You can't help it that you're as undesirable as a pig!"

"Hah, she's worse than a _pig!" _one of her friends commented.

"Yeah, more like a naked mole rat!" another said.

"No, a flea-bitten dog!"

"Or maybe a blood-sucking tick!"

The whole group was now caught in a fit of uncontrollable laughter, enjoying their victim's misery.

Kuki decided it didn't matter anymore and finally let her tears free, rolling down her red cheeks.

Suddenly their leader stopped laughing and put her hand up, signaling the others to be silent. It worked. "Girls, we have to get to class," she announced, as if it was something that no one else knew. "Sorry Kuki, but we have to go. But don't worry…." Her eyes slanted and a wicked smile formed. "You can be _sure _that we'll come again soon. See you then….."

They walked off without a second glance.

Kuki dropped on her knees, dropping her books, bringing her hands to her face. She started sobbing uncontrollably. _You stupid, dumb, idiotic moron! _she scolded herself. _What in the world made you think that this year would be any different? You're still the worthless, trashy loser you've always been! NOTHING WILL CHANGE! _She sobbed even harder, and kept going until her eyes were dry and red.

She eventually picked up her books, dusted herself off, and headed to her first period class, Honors History.

* * *

Kuki's day did not improve, needless to say.

First of all, her history teacher, Mrs. Bowie, was far from happy. Kuki had been late for class by a full ten minutes. She was lectured by her teacher in front of everyone, saying how just because it was the first day of school didn't mean she could slack off, and if she was this late again she would receive a week of detention.

The students would have felt bad if Mrs. Bowie's victim was anyone else, but since it was Kuki Sanban, there were snickers and name-calling in low, hushed voices.

Her other classes were all right, except for the fact that Kuki sat alone in a corner desk in each one, feeling miserable.

Lunch was even worse.

"Here ya go, hon. Enjoy," murmered one of the lunch ladies, tossing a burger onto Kuki's tray. The lunches in high school were far better than the lunches in the elementary and middle schools. They had _actual _food, instead of some colorless slop and other unknown dishes. That was one of the only things Kuki liked about Gallagher High.

She grabbed a few other items, paid for her food, and didn't even bother trying to sit at a table with others. Instead she went to the table she sat at last year, a small, dusty little table near the window.

When she sat down to eat her lunch, she felt something squishy on the seat and quickly stood up again. Everyone started laughing. Kuki looked at back of her pants. A huge glop of butter was smeared all over her rear end.

"Oh, so _that's _where I left my butter!" said Brooke, who was sitting at the popular table not too far away from Kuki. She burst out laughing along with everyone else.

Kuki just turned and ran as fast as she could to the bathroom.

It took Kuki forever to be able to take all the melting butter of her butt. Once she finally got it all off, she then tried to dry the cold water off with paper towels, anxiously scrubbing it. Finally she was finished, her pants now only slightly wet. Her stomach growled, so she headed back out to the cafeteria.

_That was terrible…..What am I going to do for the rest of the year? _she asked herself. Her stomach started to growl even more. She hurried her steps so she could get to her food.

When she arrived at her table, she froze. Standing there stood the most popular guy in school, Todd Crawford, also the boyfriend of Brooke. His friends, all players on the football team, stood around him.

Each one of them were eating a part of Kuki's lunch.

Her tray was empty, down to the last crumb.

"Mmm mmm mmm!" Todd exclaimed. "Man, is it me or does school food taste even _better _on the first day?" He finished off the last part of her burger.

"Sure does!"

"Tastes great!"

"The milk is nice and fresh too!"

They had consumed her entire lunch in a matter of seconds

The bell rang, and everyone filed out of the room, leaving for their next class.

Lunch was over.

Kuki just stood there, staring at her empty tray, tears in her eyes.

_What did I do……to deserve this?_ Her sobbing echoed throughout the cafeteria.

* * *

Kuki couldn't have been happier when the end-of-school bell rang. A big smile flickered across her face for a short moment. _Thank goodness…._ She didn't have anything to look forward to at home, but anywhere had to be better than at school.

She practically sprinted towards her locker, dodging flawlessly between people, trying not to get shoved or hit. She grabbed her things and zoomed home.

Her home wasn't too far away from school, so it didn't take her long to finally get to her medium-sized suburban house. She took out her keys from her book bag (which was kept in a hidden pocket of the bag so it wouldn't be stolen) and unlocked the door, stepping inside.

"Hello? Anybody home?" she called out. Ninety-nine percent of the time her parents would be away from home at work until around 11 pm, so she wasn't expecting them to be there. Mushi was at home a lot though, so she decided to check.

She got her answer when suddenly a blast of hard-rock music came out of Mushi's bedroom. Kuki immediately brought her hands to her head, wincing. She had no idea how her younger sister still possessed the ability to hear. She always had her music on at a deathly pitch.

She ran upstairs and opened the door to Mushi's room. "MUSHI!" she yelled, trying to be heard over the music. "WILL YOU PLEASE TURN THAT DOWN? I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING!"

Her sister was laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She had changed quite a lot over the years. She was now twelve years old, and her attitude had gotten even worse since when she was six. Her hair was still short, but she no longer wore it in pigtails. Now it was straight down, and streaks of purple were dyed throughout her black hair. She wore black 24/7, most of her shirts displaying pictures of skulls or her favorite bands. Surprisingly, she had a lot of friends, and absolutely adored her boyfriend, Sandy.

She never joined the Kids Next Door like Kuki did. It wasn't her thing. _Why should I help kids in trouble? _she would think. _I'm fine, and that's all that matters. _The only people she only really cared about were Sandy and herself.

She hated her sister.

Mushi shot Kuki a glare, and reached over to turn the music off. "Why should you care if you can hear anything or not?" she asked, her hand still on the knob of her stereo. "It's not like anyone is going to call you or anything. Nobody likes you, in case you haven't noticed."

Kuki looked down, staring at her shoes. "It just hurts my ears a little….." she said quietly, wringing her hands together.

"I don't freakin' care." She turned her music back on, and Kuki once again shoved her fingers in her ears, leaving.

Kuki knew that she shouldn't let her little sister talk back to her like that. She knew that while her parents were gone, she was in charge, not Mushi. But her lack of self-confidence, level of fear, and level of sadness were so great that it didn't matter.

She was sitting on the couch downstairs a few minutes later when finally the music stopped. Kuki let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm going to go see Sandy," Mushi said in a flat voice, coming down the stairs. "Make sure to have food for me when I get back."

She nodded and Mushi left.

_Food. _Kuki's stomach started growling madly, and she clutched her stomach. _I need something to eat, and fast!_

She got up and went to the kitchen, walking over to the fridge. She opened the fridge, hoping to find something nice and delicious to eat.

All that was in it was a gallon of milk, some salami, and two eggs.

Mrs. Sanban was always so busy with work that she hardly ever had time to shop, so it shouldn't have been a surprise to Kuki. She decided to then check the cabinets, counter drawers, and pantry. All there really was were condiments, bread, and cereal.

_Why do we even __**have **__a kitchen when we barely ever use it? _she thought, frowning. Her stomach growled again. There was only one option left.

Her parents left a jar of money on the kitchen counter for the girls to use for food or emergencies. Each week the jar had to be refilled with money. The Sanban sisters ate take-out a lot.

When the large pizza she ordered finally came, Kuki put three pieces on a plate and started gobbling them down. While eating, her day replayed in her head, and Kuki was suddenly no longer hungry. She pushed her plate away, and covered her face with her hands. She almost immediately started sobbing uncontrollably, tears forming a small puddle on the dinner table.

_Is this what every day of the rest of my life will be like?! _she screamed in her head. _What did I do to deserve this?! It seems that no matter how hard I try, no matter what I do, I'm always hated by everyone! Just exactly how worthless am I? Even my family doesn't care! _

She cried and cried until she had done it for so long that she had fallen asleep, her head on the table.

"KUKI, YOU MORON!"

Her head shot up, surprised by the sudden outburst. "Wha…?" she mumbled, looking at Mushi. She had been asleep for a few hours.

"Just exactly when did you get this pizza?" she yelled angrily, waving a piece of pizza around her face. "It's all cold and stiff! You expect me to _eat _this? I'm STARVING! You're so pathetic! Now instead of having some _real _food, I have to eat this junk!"

Kuki shrunk back. "You could always microwave it…"

"THAT'LL JUST MAKE IT WORSE!" Mushi screamed in her face. "You never do ANYTHING right! Ugh, I HATE YOU SO FREAKIN' MUCH!" She turned and stomped upstairs, fuming. "PATHETIC!" She slammed her door shut.

Kuki stood up, trembling, and picked up the pizza box, putting it in the fridge. Her eyes were red, eyelids drooping, still longing to sleep.

She went upstairs and laid on her bed, telling herself that she _was _worthless and pathetic, until she fell asleep once more, getting a little peace before facing another day at school.

* * *

**Yes, I know, this chapter was super depressing. But that's kinda what I need for this story to be the dramatic, romantic, touching story that I want it to be. I just hope you guys like it. If you have any advice or pointers, or if I need grammar improvements, please let me know. I want to make this as enjoyable to read as possible. Thanks again for reading! I hope you review!**

**Summary for next chapter: Wally is back in Cleveland and ready to start school, arriving on the second day school is out. **

**Heh heh, I won't tell you anymore. I wanna keep what happens a secret. ;)**


	3. Here Comes Wally!

**WHOOPEE! I got so many reviews! Thank you all! It made me so happy! If you guys have any KND stories you want me to read and review, let me know! I love writing this story. Yes, it's depressing, but it's gonna have so much ¾ that it'll be mind-blowing. The romance won't come immediately, but it'll be there! I promise. On to the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Hey guess what? I don't own Codename: Kids Next Door. Mr. Warburton does. I wonder what that guy is up to?**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter Two: Here Comes Wally

Wallabee Beetles just stood there, staring at Gallagher High as if it were some huge treasure chest. He remembered seeing it before he moved to Australia when he was thirteen, but he wasn't sure why he remembered it.

Or why those memories of it seemed to be filled with disgust for it.

Wally hated school. Who didn't? Everyone hated learning things that they would never use in life, and doing homework, and getting up early. That was a given. But most people liked school too, at least a little bit. Wally, however, never looked forward to it. Ever.

Until today, that is.

_What the heck is wrong with you Beetles? _he thought, grimacing at himself. _It's just like your old school in Australia. The teachers will be grumpy, there'll be homework, and tests, the lessons will be boring….Don't be excited! _He slapped himself. _Get a grip, man!_

But he couldn't help but be excited to see if he would remember anybody. Would he remember anything about his past? What kind of people would he meet? Will he like it here better than in Australia?

He couldn't wait to find out, and there was no way that he would tell anybody that. He had a tough reputation to maintain, after all.

_Brrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiing! _went the school bell.

Wally smiled to himself. _Here goes nothing'. New life, here I come._

_

* * *

_

"Mr. Harrison, Biology I, room 236.….Room 236.…..Crud, where the heck is room 246?!?!?" Wally yelled in exasperation, holding up his arms as if surrendering, his schedule in his left hand. "This place is more confusing than my old school back in Australia! THIS SUCKS!"

The bell signaling that school had started had already rung, and he had been trekking the halls, desperately searching for his first class. Like most schools, Gallagher High divided the school days into day ones and day twos, both with different classes. Today was a day two, and he had to get to biology. But he had no idea where to go or where to find someone to ask.

So he did the most logical thing to do at the moment. He started to bang his head against the nearest locker. "Idiot, idiot, idiot. What made you think that you would _enjoy _your first day here? Idiot, idiot, idiot."

Kuki was also late. That morning she was once again mocked by Brooke and her friends, and had trouble getting through the hallways due to all the pushing and shoving she received. She was running towards her class when she saw Wally banging his head.

Afraid that he knew who she was and would pick on her too, she walked right past him.

"Hey, you there! Wait a minute!" He grabbed her shoulder. Kuki grew tense. _Don't hurt me don't hurt me oh please oh please don't hurt me…._

"I need to find room 236! I'm new here, and I have no idea where the crud I am! Can ya help me out here?" he asked desperately.

"Oh….Y-you're new here?" she turned looking at him.

"Yeah, can ya help me?"

Kuki took a good look at him. His muscles could be seen through his hoodie. Now most girls would've gawked over them, but not Kuki. To her, the muscles were just a hazard to her health. _He can probably fight pretty well…._She gulped. Her body stood straight, her shoulders back, eyes looking straight forward. She looked like a scared statue.

Suddenly Wally's hands were waving in front of her face. "Hello, you there?" he asked. "Can ya help me find my class?"

She jumped at the sudden movement, letting out a small "eep!"

"Sorry," he apologized. "I just really need to get to this class!"

He looked so desperate, Kuki decided to take the risk and help him. And, as it turned out, he had the same first class in day two like her. "R-room 236?"

"Yeah."

"Th-that's my first class too. Just follow me." She quicky turned and started walking quickly. Wally smiled. "Really? Thanks!"

He had trouble keeping up with her. She was practically power-walking, and he had to jog at times just to keep her in sight. "Slow down a little, will ya?" he murmered under his breath. Kuki didn't hear him.

Finally they arrived to class. "H-here we are," Kuki said, opening the door. She walked inside, Wally following.

A tall, burly, black-bearded man resembling Paul Bunyan looked at them. "Well, Miss Sanban. You're pretty late."

Kuki shut her eyes and blushed. "I-I'm sorry, Mr. Harrison…"

He smiled. Mr. Harrison was overall a nice man, and somewhat knew that Kuki had it harder than the others. He didn't know that her problems were much worse than what he thought they were, but he knew she had difficulties, nonetheless. "That's alright Kuki. Just don't be late a third time, okay? I'll have to give you a detention if you do that."

"Y-yes sir." She gave him a nice little smile and quickly retreated to her lonely desk in the front right corner. The class snickered as she walked by, making her wish a black hole would just appear and suck her right out of the face of the earth.

"Now you must be Wallabee Beetles," said Mr. Harrison, adjusting his glasses. "You're our new student from Australia, correct?"

Wally rubbed the back of his head. "Call me Wally," he said. "And yeah, that's me."

"Splendid! Class, this is our new student! He's a sophomore from Australia, and he'll be with us for the rest of the year. Why don't you tell us a little about yourself, Wally?"

He turned towards the class, looking at all the faces. Some girls were staring at him, goo-goo eyed. Some looked interested in what he had to say. As for the others, they just looked bored.

"Well…" he began. "Um….I used to live here."

Mr. Harrison gasped. "You did? Oh wow! Do any of you remember him?" he asked the class eagerly.

Everybody looked at each other, confused.

"I don't remember anybody named Wallabee Beetles."

"He doesn't look familiar…."

"Don't think I've ever met him."

Wally sighed. _So much for re-meeting old friends. _

Kuki couldn't remember him either. _That's strange, _she thought to herself. _If he's lived here before, then shouldn't' at least one person remember him? _She felt bad for him, but decided to just keep to herself.

Mr. Harrison was confused too. "Well, Wally," he said, turning to him. "I'm sure somebody remembers you. Now why don't you tell us a little more about yourself?"

He scratched his head. "Eh…….I'm a tough guy, and I like videogames, and wrestling, and root beer…and all sorts of other stuff…..That's pretty much it…."

They all waited a moment longer to see if he would say any more. But all that followed was silence.

"Well then!" Mr. Harrison proclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Why don't we get started? It's a good thing you got here on the first day of the second week, me boy! You haven't missed a thing! Now lets see, where shall I put you…?" His eyes scanned the room and landed on Kuki. She glanced quickly to her left and right, looking at the empty seats beside her.

_Please, don't….._

"Why don't you sit next to Miss Sanban, Wally? You came into class together, so you already know one another."

Wally looked at her. She, however, refused to look back.

_What's up with her?_

He just shrugged and walked towards a seat next to Kuki. She grew tense, once again, and felt like fainting from fear as he sat down.

_He looks strong…He likes wrestling…He's tough….No…._

"Well then, class, let's begin…." said Mr. Harrison, grabbing a piece of chalk.

After his lecture, he gave the class a worksheet based on the notes he just had them write down. "Now if you excuse me class, I have to go down to the office for a few minutes. Just work on your papers while I'm done, alright? Be good!" The teacher left.

And like any average class in the United States of America, the class did the opposite of what they were told. Instead, they took the opportunity to introduce themselves to the new guy.

They all got up and circled his desk, as if he were some celebrity. Kuki's desk was shoved and moved from all the commotion.

Wally felt surrounded. He wanted to raise his arms and go "I'm innocent!" But instead he said, "Uh…Hey?"

"Hey there!" said Brooke, who stood right in front of him. "I'm Brooke Sanders. It's a pleasure to meet you!" Her voice was flirty and angelic (even though Todd was right there). They shook hands and he said, "Hi, nice to meet ya. Could I have a little space?"

Brooke shot glares at everyone. "Um, excuse me people, he said he wanted space. BACK UP." They all scattered, but Todd remained.

"Wally, this is my boyfriend, Todd."

"Hey," said Todd, not the least bit upset by Brooke's flirting. He was used to it. "What's up?"

Wally put his head on his desk. "Just tryin' to get through the day," he said. "This place ain't exactly how I remember it….Not that I remember much."

"Well, why don't you sit with us at lunch?" Todd asked rather nicely. "You seem alright to me," he said, giving him the punch-in-the-arm star of approval. Wally smiled. "That'd be great!"

Kuki heard the whole thing, and just didn't understand. _How did he make friends so quickly? _she thought. _I can't even manage to get anyone to talk with me, much less getting invited to lunch. _The pang of loneliness hurt, and she put her head on her desk, feeling like crying.

* * *

Wally grabbed his lunch and made his way to Todd and Brooke's table. He had already met Todd's friends, and they seemed like nice guys. He'd probably find something he disliked about some of them later, but for now it was fine.

"Wally!" the group said in unison, excited. He sat next to a guy named Connor.

"So, how do ya like school so far?" Todd asked.

"Yeah, is it better than your old one?" asked Brooke, who was across from him. She leaned forward, trying to show him some of the things that made her just so darn popular with guys.

Wally took no notice of it.

"It's a school. Nothin' special about it."

Wally didn't pay as much attention to girls as the average teenage boy usually does. Sure, he thought they were pretty, but he didn't flirt with them, or crush on them, or even befriend them. He wasn't sure why, one just never really caught his eye. He never met one he wanted to have any kind of relationship with.

He knew he didn't like guys in any special way either.

Brooke was confused. _He isn't take any interest in me at all! _she silently fumed. _This is the first time a boy hasn't fallen for me at first glance! What is WRONG with this guy? _

She wasn't going to give up though. She figured she could use a challenge.

After a few more minutes of chatter, another one of the guys shouldered Todd. "Hey, look who's comin'!" he said, pointing.

Out came Kuki, holding her tray of food. Her lips were straight, and her eyes forward, as if she tried to avoid any contact whatsoever.

"What's the deal with her?" Wally asked them all. "She was actin' so strange. I asked her to help get me to class and she hardly spoke to me, and I had to practically run to catch up with her. And she's stiff, and always seems nervous. She shy or something?"

They laughed. A guy with spiky black hair named Jared said, "She's only the biggest loser in the entire world," he said.

"Yeah," a tall red-head guy added. "She's so pathetic and useless! Hey, why don't we take her lunch again?"

Brooke laughed. "Ohmygosh, you totally should! It was so funny last time! You just need to get her away from the table again."

Wally froze. Biggest loser in the entire world, and pathetic, and useless? Wally could be mean, but he wasn't _that _mean. And what was this whole steal-her-lunch business.

"Already taken care of," said Todd. "I took her biology homework and left it on her desk." He got up and shouted, "Hey Kuki! I thought I saw your bio homework in Harrison's room! You might wanna go get it!"

She blushed. The yell had brought all attention on her, which was the last thing she wanted. "My…homework?" she whispered to herself. "I thought I had it right in here…." she checked her book bag, looking everywhere. She couldn't find it.

She panicked. _That homework is a project! If I don't finish it and turn it in by next class I'll go down a whole letter grade! _Forgetting her vow to never leave the table without her food, she jumped up, book bag in tow, and raced towards the class. When the coast was clear, the boys took action.

"I call the chicken leg!"

"Hey, if you get that, then I get the macaroni!"

"Hey Wally, you comin' or not?"

Wally just sat there, wondering what to do. The only one left there was Brooke, who was pretending to watch the boys while sending him flirty looks. Not liking being with her, he stood up and followed the guys, who were eating her lunch.

"Hey, you shouldn't eat that. She'll be hungry, won't she?" he asked. The boys paused, giving him blank stares.

"Dude, this girl is a complete _loser. Nobody _likes her. She's a complete outcast. She's annoying, stupid, ugly, weird…..She deserves it," Todd said. The boys agreed.

Wally slit his eyes. He _knew _he'd find a reason not to like these guys. Only he thought he'd only dislike a few of them. Not this time. And when he did dislike people, he had a good reason. He had grown up a little bit over the years.

"That's really low," he growled. "Stop eating her food."

Todd gave him a look. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Oh, ya can't understand English? I'm sorry. Stop. Eating. Her. Food. Now."

"Who are you, my mother?"

"No, because if I had kids they wouldn't be trickin' people for no reason."

Connor interrupted. "We DO have a reason. She's a nobody."

"That ain't a cruddy reason!"

Now another one of the guys, the name escaping Wally's mind, said, "Why are you standing up for her anyway? You don't know her! If you did you'd be eating her food too!"

Wally grit his teeth. "Who are you to tell me what I would and wouldn't do? I…"

He heard a small gasp, and they all looked to see Kuki, her paper in her hands. She was staring at the boys, seeing once again the food that was supposed to be hers in their hands.

_I can't believe I left again….. _Slowly she went and sat at her seat, saying nothing. They laughed, and walked away.

Before Todd went back, however, he glanced at Wally. "You'd better go get your food before we go and eat it too," he threatened. "You can't sit with us anymore," and then called him a name that is not needed to be mentioned.

"You do that and you'll regret it," Wally retorted, and went to get his food before anything else could be said.

* * *

Kuki's stomach growled. "Idiot," she said to herself, her hands on her face. "Idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot…."

"Yeah I know, Todd really is an idiot."

Kuki's head snapped up and looked up. Standing there was the new kid, Wallabee Beetles. He was looking down on her, smiling all friendly-like, his tray in his hands.

"Mind if I sit here?"

She jumped up and took some steps backward, eyeing his muscles. Her heart pounded with fear. "Y-yes, you can sit here! Of course! I-I'll just g-go, no fuss…." she grabbed her book bag, getting ready to go find another empty table when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She gulped, eyes wide open.

"Why are ya leavin'? You afraid of me or something?" he asked. He received no reply.

He sighed. "Listen, I'm not that good around girls, and I'm not the nicest guy either, but I'm not gonna hit you or make fun of you or anything. I just wanted to offer some of my food since those cruddy jerks over there ate yours. I won't be hangin' out with them again." He pointed towards the table the jerks were sitting at.

Kuki was absolutely _shocked. _No one, _no one, _had ever been so nice to her before. She turned around. "Um…uh….um…." was all she could say, and she blushed. Of course there was still a little voice inside her head, warning her that it could all be an act.

_He might be tricking you. He could have spit in the food or something. Look at him! He likes __**wrestling **__for Pete's sake! Don't trust him. He'll just hurt you like everyone else. Nobody would ever be nice to you! You're too pathetic, a nobody…._

Wally had gently taken her by the shoulders and led her to a chair and sat her down, and sat beside her. A bored expression on his face, he picked up his sandwich and put it in her hands.

"Here. You eat this," he said.

She stared at it, and put it back on his tray. "N-no, that's okay, it's yours…." Wally grew confused. "Aren't you hungry?"

"N-no…"

He just shook his head. Man, what _was _it with girls? It was like they were a completely different species or something! _I'll never understand em'. They make no sense. _

"Suit yourself then," he said, and slowly raised the sandwich to his mouth. Kuki started to stare at it, eyes filled with desire. It was a simple peanut butter and jelly, but to Kuki it looked so _good. _The balance between the peanut butter and the jelly was perfect, so it wouldn't be too sticky or too soggy. There was a good amount of both of them between the bread, so nothing was dripping out. Kuki had forgotten to have breakfast that morning, so….

Kuki opened her mouth ever so slightly, and the moment she did the sandwich was shoved into her mouth.

"Enjoy!" Wally said, a grin on his face.

Kuki held it with her hands before it could fall out of her mouth and took a bite. Her brain kept telling her not too, but she ignored it. Her stomach was more important at the moment. She tried to not look directly at the Australian sitting next to her. It felt so _uncomfortable. _

"I knew you wouldn't resist," said Wally, and started to eat the other contents of his lunch. They remained silent until the bell ending lunch rang, and people rose up to take their trays to the conveyor belt that took the trays into the kitchen.

Before Wally got up, Kuki summoned up all her courage and said very silently "….Thank you…."

He turned around and gave her a smile. "Oh, no problem, uh….Kuki, right?"

She nodded.

"Great…Yeah…So I'll just…go now. See ya!" he said, and left.

And that one little act of kindness was enough to make Kuki smile the whole time she walked to her next class.

* * *

**Ah, I don't think I did as well on this chapter. The ending seems kinda forced to me. But the next chapter will be way better. Trust me. Please review, and if you think the chapter felt kinda rushed, let me know, or any other advice. Thanks!**


	4. Kuki's Place

**I don't really have anything to say….I just wanna start the chapter! ****J So….I guess I'll do that! Hooray!**

**Disclaimer: I own no cartoons, including Codename: Kids Next Door. Mr. Warburton does. Did you guys know he has a baby now? I also do not own Umberto's Pizza, which indeed exists. **

_**

* * *

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_Finding Happiness_

Chapter Four: Kuki's Place

Kuki didn't want to go home after school. Mushi had an especially bad mood this morning, and felt that it was best not to bother her…Although sometimes she felt that the mere fact that she existed bothered her sister. She wasn't worried about leaving her at home by herself. She was capable of feeding and entertaining herself, and the house had a security system to keep her safe. If something went wrong her sister could call her on her cell phone.

Not that she used her cell very often. Who was there to call?

So Kuki decided that she would spend her evening at a special little spot she had found a few years ago, no longer used by anyone. It was a place that she called her own, and could find peace there. Nobody would be there to try to bully her or make her feel bad.

When school had finally ended, she went to her locker and got her stuff, stealthily avoiding Brooke and her league of followers. When she finally got out the door she went the opposite direction of her house, and looked both ways to make sure nobody saw her. If someone found out about her secret haven, everything would be ruined.

Apparently her detective skills were lacking because she had thought the coast was clear and no one was there to follow her. She was not aware of Wally watching her from a distance.

_What the crud is she up to? _he thought, perplexed. He had noticed her acting this way, and thought it was strange. Yes, it was only his first day there, but she seemed suspicious at the moment. Like she had something to hide.

He wanted to know exactly what that was.

He had been thinking about Kuki ever since lunch, curious. Why exactly did everyone hate Kuki so much? It couldn't just be because she was a girl, which was the main reason Wally avoided them. She seemed nice enough. Really shy and scared, yes, but that was probably because everyone was so mean to her. It also kind of weirded him out that he cared so much about this girl.

He guessed it was because he knew what it felt like. Of all the few memories he had of his childhood, it was when he was about five years old, back when kids made fun of him for his short stature. Thank goodness he toughened up and got taller!

Aware that he might look like some sort of creepy stalker tracking some poor victim, he decided to carefully follow Kuki to wherever she was going.

* * *

Kuki arrived towards the end of town, which was more bare than the rest. It wasn't so bare that it was really dangerous to go there by yourself, it just wasn't as crowded. There were plenty of people who lived there, and pedestrians were always walking somewhere during the day on the sidewalks. Thankfully, most of the people there were adults, not teenagers. Which is one of the things that made Kuki's hideout so perfect.

Wally was still quietly following her, hiding behind buildings, mailboxes, whatever he saw that would keep him concealed.

Finally Kuki was at the very end of the street, and there it was. It was a low, worn-out building made of wood, with a few broken windows, and a door with chipped black paint. To most, it was an ugly old building that should be knocked down and replaced with a big huge mall that would drive all the other shops out of business. To Kuki, it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

Wally was one of the most who thought it should be knocked down. He thought Kuki might've taken a wrong turn and was going to turn back. Much to his surprise, she opened the door and stepped inside.

_Why is she going in there? _he thought, stepping out of his hiding place (a trash can) and getting closer to the building. _This place is nothing but garbage! _

He took the knob of the door to see if it would open, and it basically swung open for him. He didn't want to spook his classmate, so he stuck his head inside the door. "Hello? Can I come in?"

* * *

_Ah, _Kuki thought when she got to the end of the steps, which led to a big room with tables and a big bar. The building wasn't used as a bar anymore, and she wasn't sure why. The only thing she _did _know was that it used to be known as _Lime Ricky's, _due to an old sign hanging above the bar.

She discovered the place in eight grade after having a bad day, and decided to take a long walk. She hadn't cared where she was going or how long she was going to be, and soon found herself at the very edge of town. She was curious about the old bar when she walked by it, and decided to explore it.

Pretty soon she began to go to the old place everyday to relax and separate herself from the rest of the world. She felt a connection with it. It was unwanted, neglected, and useless, just like she felt she was.

Then she decided to furnish it. She took a part-time job at a flower shop for a while until she had enough money to do so, and bought some beanbag chairs, light fixtures, a small sofa she bought at a yard sale for a great price, and a stereo for music. She also bought some bookshelves at another yard sale and put it in there too. Not to mention a few of her beloved Rainbow Monkeys from home. She still adored the stuffed creatures, with their happy smiles and rainbow protruding from their heads. She didn't take all the ones she owned though. She knew that people could easily come in here and steal her stuff, and didn't want to take a bigger risk than she was already taking.

It was like a weird apartment or something. The old bathroom and lamps hanging from the ceiling still worked, too! Well, Kuki had to put some light bulbs in the lamps because the old ones were dead, but still!

She set her backpack on the bar and sat on her favorite sparkly green beanbag, and turned on some music on her stereo, and was just about to kick back when suddenly she heard a voice say "Hello? Can I come in?"

Her heart stopped. She didn't recognize the voice from down there, and decided not to say anything. She knew staying in an abandoned place had its dangers, which was why she kept a baseball bat near the beanbags. She quietly picked it up, shaking, and slowly rose up.

_Maybe if I don't say anything the person will leave, _she thought hopefully, wishing she hadn't come after all.

"Kuki? I know it's you down here!"

_HE KNOWS MY NAME!!!!!!!_ she screamed in her head, feeling like she was going to faint. She shut her eyes tightly, waiting for her doom. She heard footsteps come down the stairs. Sweat rolled down her forehead.

"It's me, Wally. The new guy at school. Remember?"

Her eyes shot open, and there he was, just standing there, eyeing the baseball bat. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Heh heh, sorry, guess I kinda scared you there….Heh heh……"

She lowered the bat and said nothing. Her heart hadn't stopped pounding yet, and her breathing was quick and heavy.

"So, um, I guess you're wonderin' how I got here, huh?" he asked. Kuki still remained frozen, her face blank. He took that as a yes and continued. "Well, this might sound kinda weird to you, but I followed you here, and…."

"WHAT?" Kuki shouted, bringing the bat back up again. "L-L-Leave me alone, please, or I'll….I'll hit you! I will!" she said with fake determination.

He put his hands up and waved them. "No no no, you got the wrong idea, girly! I promise I wasn't stalking you or anything! I just saw you outside at the end of school and you looked all secretive! You kept lookin' around making sure no one saw where you were going and I got curious, that's all! I wanted to see where you would go. Honest!"

He wasn't afraid of the baseball bat. Back in Australia he had been in a couple of fights, and knew how to avoid certain weapons. He just wanted to assure her that, no, he was not a crazy stalker.

He walked towards her and she took a step back, still frightened. He sighed. "Okay, it was creepy that I followed you here, but trust me, I'm telling the truth. I don't even like girls all that much. I mean, I've never even had a girlfriend before, so why would I want to stalk you? Huh?"

She continued to stare at him, and he stared back. This continued on for a few minutes until Kuki finally decided to put the bat back in its proper place and sat on her beanbag. "Um…." she said, blushing. "I believe you now…."

Wally let out a big sigh of relief. "That's good! I don't want you thinking anything bad about me after all. So….." he looked around the place, looking at all of Kuki's furniture, the old pictures on the walls, everything. "This is….Some place you got here. You come here a lot?"

She nodded yes. She was so confused. Why was he being so nice to her? First the sandwich, and now he was actually _talking _to her? With no insults or rude comments or anything? Why was she letting him stay here in the first place?

"So this is like your private hangout here?"

Another nod yes.

"….Did you furnish this place yourself?"

She decided to finally speak up. "S-some of it….The beanbags, couch, bookshelves, stereo, and lamp are mine. The tables and chairs aren't mine."

"Oh….." He looked around a little more, then asked, "Why do you hang out in such a cruddy place like this? Back in Australia me n' my mates always hung out at an arcade, or the movies, or something like that . Don't you have anywhere else to go?"

"It's not cruddy…." Kuki said quietly. "It's my place. The place where I can always go to so I can get a moment of peace….I love it here…..And…I….I don't have any mates to go to places with, so….That's why."

"Aw, c'mon, you gotta have at least a few friends to hang out with! I know those jerks back at school said you have no friends, but I don't believe that. _Everybody _has a friend. Never knew a person that didn't," Wally declared, crossing his arms.

She turned her head away, not wanting to show this….this…_Wally _that her eyes were brimming with tears. "You do now…" she whispered.

His eyes grew wide. "What?"

"I've never had a friend…since I was thirteen. I don't remember anything before that, though."

"No way! You don't remember anything either? Neither do I!" he exclaimed in an excited fashion. "It's like my mind was completely blank during my childhood or something! I looked through albums and everything! But I got nothing!"

Kuki looked up at him, the tears gone. "Really?"

"Yeah!"

They just kind of stared at each other, Wally's arms still up in the air after his excited proclamation., until Kuki started to blush and looked away.

_So….They were right….She really __**doesn't **__have any friends…_Wally thought, feeling bad for her. This was unusual for him. Why did _he _care? He hated girls.

Right?

_I can't believe I'm doin' this….._

"Well…..All my friends are back in Australia, and I'm friendless here….And I hate that Todd guy's guts now, so…….Uh…..Wanna be friends? Or somethin'?" He really wasn't good at this.

She gasped., her hands covering her mouth. "You want to be friends with…" she began in an unbelieving tone. "….With _me?_"

Wally shoved his hands in his pockets, staring at the floor. "Well, sure. I mean, we ate lunch together, and you seem nice….I've never had a friend that was a girl before, but you don't seem cruddy like the ones my friends you to date." He shuddered, memories of his best friends' (Chase and Matt) old girlfriends going through his mind, then added, "And I'm hungry. I have no idea where to go to get some good grub though. And eatin' alone is…lonely."

This made Kuki giggle, something not a lot of people saw her do, then covered her mouth, embarrassed. _I don't want to insult him, _she thought, panicked. She glanced at him, and he was just looking at her, waiting for a reply. He didn't seem offended or angry at all.

"Um….A good place to eat?" she asked.

"Yeah. Got anything in mind?"

_Think, Kuki, think! A good place to eat, A good place to eat….._

"Um….I know this really good pizza place……" she answered, twiddling her fingers.

"Sounds good! Let's go!" He took her arm, lifting her off the ground, and led her towards the stairs. Her face looked like a tomato. She grabbed her backpack as they walked out.

_Did I just make a friend? _She couldn't believe it.

* * *

**Well, there you go! Short chapter, I know, but I wanted to end it there because of the title. I really hope Wally isn't too out of character. Obviously Kuki is, but as you've all guessed it's supposed to be like that. The next chapter will be about Kuki and Wally eatin' pizza, and Kuki will tell Wally just exactly why she is the way she is. They won't fall for each other yet, but be patient! Believe me, even **_**I'm **_**getting impatient with myself. I wanna write the mushy stuff already! Ugh, oh well. I hoped you liked it, and would love to hear your comments! Thanks! :D**


	5. You Need a Friend

**Man oh man have I gotten a lot of reviews! This is only chapter 5 and I already have over twenty reviews! YAY! *confetti and balloons come out of nowhere* Thanks to all of you for all your support and kind reviews! You're so good to me…*sniffle***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door or Umberto's Pizza, which yes, does exist. Although if I owned both of them I'd be pretty dern happy. I don't own Coke either.**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 5: You Need a Friend

Wally and Kuki were sitting at a polished wooden table at the corner of Umberto's, a restaurant famous for their pizzas, stromboli, and extra sugary cokes. Kuki had always loved to eat there, ever since she was a kid she ate there, and never tired from it. Pretty much everyone that worked there recognized her.

It was a small restaurant, with brick walls decorated with pictures of Italy. The counter was adorned with fake grapevines, with a glass case showing off the many desserts offered on the menu. The lighting was fairly low, lamps hung over each table. Luckily the sun was still out, showing through the windows, so the restaurant didn't have a real romantic setting to it like it did at night.

"Sooo…." Wally drawled, trying to start a conversation. Kuki glanced shyly at him while sipping her coke.

"Uh…..These sodas are really good," he started, taking a sip of his drink. "What do they do, put extra syrup in it or somethin'? It's really sweet!"

Starting conversations was not one of Wally's strong points.

Kuki put her glass down, staring at the table. "Um…I…I really don't know…Maybe?" She had never been so nervous in what felt like her entire life. Hanging out with one of her peers was something she had never done before. She was so afraid of doing something stupid.

"Yeah, they probably do….Yeah…" he replied.

Silence again.

"KUKI! Is that you I see? How is my favorite customer?"

They both turned their heads, Kuki smiling. Standing there was a short and portly man with a chef's hat covering his bad comb-over. He had a long curled mustache covering his jolly face, and a thick Italian voice. His apron was covered with stains, and his black plants were sporting a few spots of flour.

"Mr. Melloni!" she shouted, jumping up and giving the man a short hug. "How're you? Is the restaurant having good business?" Her voice was no longer sad or nervous, just naturally happy.

Mr. Melloni was the manager and head chef of Umberto's, and had known Kuki ever since she first came to his restaurant at five years old. His memory wasn't too good, but he remembered Kuki having friends as a kid, and often wondered why she always came alone nowadays. Nonetheless, he thought she was a great girl, and always welcomed her at his restaurant.

He returned the hug, laughing. "Ah, business is very good, Kuki. Is very very good. These people, they love the pizza! They say, 'The food, is wonderful!' We want more!" I am a very happy man."

He then noticed Wally sitting at the table, staring at them. Mr. Melloni grinned. "Heh heh heh," he laughed, giving Kuki a look. "And who is _this _young man, eh young lady? Boyfriend, I assume?"

Before she could protest, he walked over to Wally, pointing at him in the face. "You be a very lucky boy," he said in a serious tone. "Kuki is a wonderful girl. I think of her as a daughter, I do. Treat her right and maybe I'll learn to like you too, eh?"

He blushed, and started waving his hands in front of his face. "Woah, no no no no no. You got the wrong idea here, pops. I ain't nobody's boyfriend," Wally explained. "We're just friends, is all. I swear!"

Kuki gasped quietly again. There it was again. The _f _word. She still couldn't believe he was calling her his friend, and only after knowing her for a _day_.

Mr. Melloni backed off, a questioning look on his face. "Oh, I see. Just friends. Well, that's good too, I guess. What is your name, boy?"

"Wally. Wally Beetles."

"Well then, Wally, it's nice to meet you. Kuki, why don't you sit down, okay? Do you want the usual today, but a medium instead of a small?"

She sat down, blushing, and said, "Oh, um, I don't know. D-Do you like p-pepperoni pizza?" she asked Wally.

"Sure do," he replied.

Mr. Melloni smiled. "Alrighty then, one large pepperoni pizza pie comin' right up!" He turned towards the kitchen, smiling to himself.

_Heh heh heh, I smell romance in the air….._he thought, a mischievous look on his face. _Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but one day….And why did that boy seem so familiar to me? _He tried to think if he ever saw someone like him, but nothing came to mind. He shrugged. _Eh, it's probably just all in my head._

* * *

"I'm s-so sorry about that," Kuki apologized. "Mr. Melloni….He's very r-romantic…." Her face grew redder and redder with each second.

Wally laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, no that's ok. Really. He seems like an okay fella," he replied. Suddenly he thought of something he wanted to ask her. "Hey, I wanna know somethin'. Why was that Todd guy such a jerk to you? Does he _like _stealin' other people's food or something?" He left out the part about how he and his friends called her a loser, outcast, etc. That was best to be left out.

The question shocked Kuki. She didn't think he would bring up the most popular guy in school, much less why he did what he did at lunch. Wasn't it obvious?

"N-no…." she squeaked. "He just….doesn't like me very much."

"Why? He got a reason?"

"Yes…."

"Whatcha do? Run over his cat or somethin'? I mean, I've done some pretty mean things, but _c'mon! _Stealin' food is just not cool! What could you have done to make him and his friends do that?" He didn't consider the fact that perhaps he was being nosy.

Kuki was starting to feel on comfortable. "Do I….have to talk about it?" she whispered. "I….Todd….He….Nobody….Nobody likes me…."

Wally's eyes grew bigger. "Nobody likes you? That can't be true. That Mr. Melloni guy seemed to like you!"

"Mr. Melloni likes everybody," Kuki said. "He's really nice…But me? I'm just….just…." Tears started to well up in her eyes.

Wally started to panic. "Oh, uh, don't cry Kuki! Uh, I didn't mean to make you cry! Really, uh…." He hastily grabbed some napkins and gave them to her. "I really ain't good at this…." he muttered to himself. _What was I thinking?_

She gratefully accepted the napkins and started to dab her eyes. "I-It's not your fault…" she assured him, sniffling. "It's me….It's my fault I'm like this….."

Now he was just confused. "Your fault? Kuki, I don't get any of this. What's wrong? Why is everyone so mean to you? Why'd they eat your food?"

"It's always been that way…." Kuki began in a small voice. "Ever since I was thirteen. When I started middle school. I….I was so excited then. I kept thinking, 'This is going to be so much fun! I'm going to make so many friends!' But then….Brooke…"

"Brooke Sanders?" Wally asked. _Finally, _she was talking.

"Y-Yeah. Her. She was the first one I tried to make friends with. I had no idea she was the most popular girl in school. I just happened to have the seat next to her in class. All I did is smile, and tell her my name, and asked if she wanted to sit with me at lunch…."

"And then what?" he prodded her on.

"She just looked at me. She was smiling. I thought she was going to say yes, she would sit with me. But then she started laughing. She said, 'Why would I sit with you? I have better things to do than hang out with some loser like you. And what kind of name is that? Kuki? What are you? Some sort of crazy person?' And…Everybody started to laugh. The boys…They kept flirting with her, and the girls fought for her attention…And they started to pick on me just like she did. And, in middle school, everyone was divided in groups…The Red Team, Blue Team, Green Team…Things like that. And…Everyone on the same team had classes together. So I had a lot of classes with the same people. And….I don't remember anything from being thirteen…"

"I think it's always been that way…People…They've always hated me. They've always called me things like 'loser,' 'outcast', 'worthless', and other things…..I think it was like that my whole life, although I don't remember what I was like as I kid. I'd like to think that I was happy….I have some happy memories, but…I think I've always been hated. And they're right….They're so right….."

She reached for more napkins, because she began to cry again.

"I can't do anything right….I've always been a screw-up. I'm not good for anything….I'm not smart, or talented, or fun, or cool, or pretty… not anything. I'm just a big worthless loser…." She began to sob, unable to say anything anymore.

Wally was not a big sympathetic person, unless you were a close friend of his or family. (A/N Kuki isn't a close friend of his yet.) Unless somebody was dead, sick, or something like that, you didn't get anything from him.

But this…This was just _sad. _

"Gee, Kuki….That's…I'm sorry…."

Kuki got up from her seat. "I….I have to go…." she said through her tears. "Thanks for everything. Bye." She ran out of the restaurant as quickly as she could, trying to hide her face with her sleeves. Wally got on his feet. "Hey, wait up!" he cried, running after her.

Mr. Melloni was quite confused when he came to the table with a hot pizza in his hands, staring at the unoccupied seats.

"Where did they go?"

* * *

Kuki just ran, not caring where she was going. She just wanted to get away, away from the world. Nothing would get better for her, not now, not ever. _After hearing that story, _she thought to herself, _he won't want to be my friend anymore. I'm just not worth it! _

Suddenly she felt a hand wrap around her arm, keeping her from moving forward. She turned her ahead, and there was Wally, gasping for breath.

"You're not good at anything, huh? You ever consider joining the track team?" he gasped. "Took me forever to catch up to ya!"

She looked away. "W-What are you doing? Why are you following me?" She didn't say it in a mean voice. Heck, she didn't have a mean bone in her entire body. She sounded confused, and didn't think he would come after her.

"Because you need a friend, that's why!" he replied, his breath slowing down now. "I've never seen someone so miserable as you, and I just met you. Listen, I'm still confused over this whole thing, and I don't usually make friends so quickly, especially with girls, but…I said we were friends, and we are. So…Don't be sad anymore, okay? Please?"

She just stared at him, then said, "Are we really friends? You really meant that? At my hideout, and at the restaurant? You mean it?"

He smiled. "Sure! Like I said, you don't seem like all the other cruddy girls I've met. I don't see why not," he said sincerely. This time he didn't question why he was being so nice to her. He really did want to be her friend.

More staring.

"Well, then," he said, straightening up. "I gotta be getting home now, or my mom will have my hide. So I'll see ya tomorrow, okay? This time we'll make sure nobody gets your lunch, and I'll punch anybody who tries to. Sound good?"

"Y-Yeah….That sounds good….Wally," she said, saying his name for the first time.

"Okay, then, see ya tomorrow, Kuki!" He waved, starting his way towards home. "Don't cry anymore, alright?"

Kuki just froze there, staring after him.

_Maybe….Just maybe…This year really will be different…Kuki thought, her heart suddenly feeling lighter._

She didn't know just how different the year would be for her.

* * *

**Goodness, I updated this chapter at a fast pace! I hope you guys liked this chapter. I had to rewrite it three or four times until I was satisfied with it. I like the part when Kuki says "Wally". HEHEHEHEHEH. I dunno why, it's a little romantic to me. Which, by the way, I hope to start the romancin' in a few more chaps. I WANT TO START IT SOON! That'll be fun to write. Thanks for all your compliments on my writing guys! It makes me feel special. ^_^ Well, please review (unless you're busy and you have to get off the computer RIGHT NOW) and have a grrrrrrrrreat day!**


	6. Wrecking the Place

**This is my favorite story I've written. It's so much fun to write! And it's gotten the best reviews too….That's always a good thing! You guys are the best, you know that? Seriously, all these compliments and I'm going to become conceited, lol! Just joking. What a minute, what am I blabbering about? You guys shouldn't be reading this, you should be reading the story! OH, I almost forgot!**

**YOU MUST READ THIS: This chapter is dedicated to Nigel's Leading Lady. The idea for this chapter and the next one to come comes from her, and I am deeply, deeply grateful. You rock girl!**

**I would also like to give some dedication to breezy-kuki since she understands Kuki's feelings just as much as I do.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door. Blah. Well, some of the characters are mine, but who cares?**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 6:

Wrecking the Place

"Brooke, you devious chick, you! That's genius!" exclaimed Todd, giving Brooke a kiss on the cheek. "Am I lucky or what?" He put his arm around her, feeling proud.

Todd and Brooke were outside of school, sitting on the lunch benches that upperclassmen sat at. Seniors were privileged with the honor of eating outside instead of inside, where everyone else was forced to dine. Why this rule was made is uncertain, as it is stupid and pointless, but the rule did not apply during the hours school wasn't operating.

Delilah, Jared, Connor, and all of the couple's friends were gathered around the two, excited. "How did you find the place anyway? You sure Kuki goes there?" asked the tall redhead skeptically, whose name was Shawn Dennison.

"Positive," Brooke answered, tucking a glorious strand of hair behind her left ear. "My mom gets her dry-cleaning done at a shop by the old building that Kuki goes to. Since I sometimes have to go pick up our clothes from there, I have to walk by it, and I've seen her come out of there a few times. She always looks so secretive, and one time I even saw her bring some stuff inside of it. Nobody else uses the abandoned place anymore, so she must go there for some reason."

Connor rubbed his head in confusion, ruffling up his dark brown hair. "What the heck would she use it for?"

"Who knows?" Brooke smirked and then said, "But it doesn't matter. Trash loves trash, after all."

"So what's the plan again, Brooke?" Delilah asked eagerly, admiration in her eyes. She seriously needed to develop her own personality.

The beautiful blondie rolled her eyes. "Delilah, you can be so annoying sometimes. You _always _forget things."

Delilah frowned, and wrapped her arms around herself, and Brooke softened. "Oh, it's alright! Don't be such a downer! You're my best friend after all." This brightened the girl up a bit.

"Okay, so here's the plan again, so _everybody _can be clear on it. After school we are all gonna go to Todd's house and take some tools from his father's workshop. After that, you'll all follow me and I'll take you to Kuki's little…..'haven'. We're going to have to make sure that that little outsider isn't inside, so we're gonna have to knock on the door and then hide behind something…I'm not sure where, maybe an alley or house or something. If she comes out, we'll wait until she leaves. If she isn't, obviously we'll just go inside. Once we _are _inside, we're just gonna go crazy and…."

"Totally wreck the place!" Todd interrupted, pumping his fists. Brooke laughed.

"Yeah, that. Of course, we'll also need someone to go on lookout for Kuki. Who's gonna do that?"

Nobody wanted to raise their hand. Wrecking havoc was fun, and missing out was just lame. But Delilah, as her greatest joy in life was pleasing her best friend, raised her hand. "I'll do it!" she singsonged, raising her hand.

"Okay, good!" Brooke said, nodding. "Thanks, D…So, that's basically the plan. I'm hoping we'll be able to see her reaction, but I promise I'll try to get something out of her without being discovered." Another evil grin. "So, you guys all got it down?"

"YEAH!"

"Alright then….." she said in low voice. "This is gonna be fun…."

* * *

"Hey, Kuki! Long time no see!"

Kuki turned her head, seeing the hooded Aussie walking towards her waving. She was standing under the tree she was at on the first school day.

"Oh….Hi, Wally," she greeted shyly. _I'm talking to my friend…._she thought, smiling.

"Man, I'm glad you're finally saying my name. I was wonderin' if you would _ever _say it," he said, chuckling. He was in a good mood today, and decided to show it.

"Y-Yeah….Ha ha…."

He stared at her. "Are you okay? You uncomfortable or something? You sound nervous."

Kuki frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry….I'm just….I don't know how to act. Like I said, I've never really had a friend before, and I don't wanna….y'know….act stupid or anything."

Wally laughed and said, "Is that all? Kooks, doin' stupid stuff is _fun_. Me 'n my mates, Chase and Matt, are morons all the time. I ain't sayin' we're dumb or anything, but we're always crazy. Heh heh, one time Matt and I dared Chase to eat a cricket, and he turned totally green and threw up! We were laughin' so hard…." He smiled at the memories.

Kuki had a disgusted look on her face. "A cricket?"

"Yeah, and it was fun. See, you're friends with me, a guy," he started to explain. "We ain't as mature as you _girls _are. So don't worry about it. Just be yourself." He put his hand on her shoulder. "Alright?"

The Asian gulped, looking down. "I don't know how to be myself. I don't think I don't even know who I _am._"

Wally gave her a hesitant pat on the back. "Well, uh….You'll find out eventually. You got plenty of time."

Before he could continue, the wretched bell rang, and everyone started to march towards the entrance, grumbling at the fact that they had to go through yet another day of educational torture.

"Well, better get goin'…..Let's go," he said to Kuki. "Another day of school…Ugh…."

_Yeah…_Kuki thought. _It __**is **__another day, isn't it? _Then she remembered something else and thought, _Kooks?_

----------------------------------

It was Day One, and Kuki and Wally found out that they had second and eighth period together too. Second period was English, the other gym. Wally had agreed to Kuki's proposal that he protect her from any oncoming flying balls as well, so they were both pretty happy.

Much to everyone's surprise, Wally sat next to Kuki by choice. And like most teenagers who have seen others do unexpected things, gossiping ensued.

"I can't believe that guy is actually sitting next to her!"

"Is he _blind?_"

"Didn't he sit with her at lunch yesterday too, and give her his sandwich?"

"Yeah, it's really strange…."

That is an example of one of the conversations that went on among many, and Kuki and Wally had very good sense of hearing, so it made them uncomfortable.

"Stupid morons," Wally growled, shooting the gossipers the glare of death (they didn't take notice). "Ain't nothin' wrong sitting with you, Kuki. They're just being jerks," he reassured her. "Don't listen to 'em."

Kuki smiled. "It's okay…I'm just glad I'm not alone today."

He smiled.

Their English teacher, Mr. Coop, clapped his hands to get the students' attention, silencing them. "Alright, people," he said, hands on his hips, "Today we're gonna do a fun little activity…thingy. The first class we went over class procedures. Second we gave out books. The third class I had you write an essay on the book you had to read over the summer. This time I'm going to have you guys get with a partner and fill out this questionnaire," he said, picking up a stack of papers from his desk and began to pass them around.

"They're just fun questions for you guys to ask each other. I want this class to be fun and laid-back. Of course, if you misbehave I'll have to be a big meanie and give you worksheets everyday to work on quietly, so behave, okay. Please? Not only for me, but for you guys as well."

Partners. Kuki _hated _partners. Nobody ever picked her, and the teacher would have to force another unpicked kid to work with her, when that person would've rather worked by him/herself instead of with _her._

"So, Kuki, where were you born?"

She was so occupied with her dread of partners that she completely forgot about Wally. "What?" she asked.

"Where were you born?" he asked again, looking at his paper. Kuki blinked.

_I guess I don't have to worry about partners after all. _She felt like jumping for joy, or kissing all her Rainbow Monkeys.

"I was born in Japan," she answered, smiling. She was still shy around him, and her voice was still small and soft, but she felt comfortable.

"You were?"

"Yeah."

"When did you move here?"

"When I was only two. My parents had always planned to move to America before I was born, and came here before I could learn to talk. I kind of have a Japanese accent, but that's why I've always spoken English so well. Where were you born? Australia?" she guessed.

"Bingo. Born there, moved here when I was three, then back to Australia at thirteen., then back here again. It makes me dizzy just thinkin' about it."

They continued with the assignment and began to get to know one another better. Most of the questions were the basic getting-to-know-you questions, but it was fun nonetheless.

Then the tenth and last question came: What are your talents?

"My talents are wrestling, playing kickball and dodge ball, and playing the electric guitar!" Wally stated proudly.

Kuki's hasped. "You can play the guitar?"

"Can I play it? Girly, I ROCK IT. I'll have to play it for ya sometime," he said, his arms dangling from the back of his chair, looking smug. "Of course, I'm not half the musician my mate Chase is. Anyway, how about you? What're you good at?"

Kuki got nervous. Her legs crossed and she started to wring her hands. What was she good at?

"I'm not really good at anything….." Her voice was low and weak, and she truly thought that.

"I don't believe that," Wally said. "Not one bit. What do you like to do?"

"What do I like to do? Well, um….lots of things…"

"C'mon, Kuki. It doesn't matter what _they _say about you. They don't know crud. C'mon, just say it."

She blushed. Wally was just so _positive _all the time. "Well…I love to draw and paint. I'm not to good at it, but I'm in art class, and I really like it. Writing is something I like to do too."

"Well, you'll have to show me your drawings and stuff sometime, okay?" He found Kuki interesting. _So she's an artsy gal, eh? I like that. Not some girl whose life is only nail polish and the latest fashion line._

Kuki shot a glance at her book bag hesitantly. "I can show you something now….." she said, still staring at the book bag. "Do….Do you want to see it?"

"Yeah, that'd be great! When's your art class anyway?"

"Third period, day two," she answered.

Slowly she picked up her book bag and took out a green file where she kept all her artwork. Doodles were drawn all over it, and Wally thought they looked pretty good, though he didn't say anything. He just sat and waited patiently, waiting for the artist to reveal her vision.

She took out her most recent piece of art, a basic drawing. The assignment was to draw an animal showing emotion.

Wally's eyes popped. The picture was _amazing. _He yanked it out of her hands and looked at it closer. Kuki had a surprised look on her face, staring at her now empty hands.

On the paper was a puppy in a box, peeking out of it, it's paws over the sides. On the box it said "Free Puppies!" It was the only puppy left, and his eyes showed pure sadness. It looked almost like a photograph.

"Wow……" he whispered, unable to take his eyes of the picture. "Kuki…..This is amazing!"

She looked as if someone had just screamed "SURPRISE!"

"Really? You think it's good?"

"No, it ain't good, it's AWESOME! You have a real talent for this! How can you say that you aren't good at anything when you drew this with your own hands?" he asked her.

"Because it just looks like crap," an angelic voice interrupted.

And wouldn't you know it, it was Brooke. Hoorah….

Wally looked at her angrily. "Are you freakin' blind?" he said to her, standing up. "You're just saying that because you're a…"

"Wally, really, it's okay," Kuki interrupted. "The painting really isn't that good…."

Brooke shot them both the glare of death. "Shut up Kuki. Nobody listens to you. And as for YOU," she said, pointing and staring at Wally, getting up in his face. "WHAT were you about to call me?"

A sly grin crept upon his face. "You know what I was gonna say. And you know what? I meant it," he said, then his face turned angry again, and added, "Don't call Kuki stupid."

By the way, the teacher had left the classroom. The teachers at that school do that a lot…..

Brooke looked as if she was about to explode. What was this? A _guy was insulting __**her? HER? **_The most beautiful, popular girl in all of Cleveland? Maybe even the world? Why was he being mean to her, instead of drooling, admiring, aching for her? This is truly what she thought, down to every word.

She slit her eyes. "You punk…."

"That's my name, and don't wear it out!" He looked proud. This sent Brooke off with a big "UGH!!!!", and stepped out of the classroom without a pass.

Kuki was, nonetheless, speechless. "Wally….."

"Hmm?" He turned his head and looked at her. "Yeah?" He sat back down. "What?"

"That was……" Her face was once again crimson red, and she looked intently into his eyes to show that she really meant what she was about to say. "…The nicest thing anyone's ever done for me…."

He was surprised at that comment. _The nicest thing anyone's ever done for her? That's…kinda sad…"_

Grinning sheepishly while trying to look like that made him happy, he said "No problem." The smile turned to normal again. "I really meant that, by the way. That picture….Don't stop doin' what you're doin', okay? You got a real talent for drawing."

Kuki felt a surge of joy so strong that she smiled ear to ear. "I will…Thank you so much!"

The rest of the class went smoothly for them, ignoring what the rest of the class was saying about them. When Mr. Coop came back and realized Brooke was gone, she returned, and Mr. Coop gave her a present!

"Ms. Sanders, see me in detention tomorrow."

* * *

"I'M GOING TO **KILL **THEM!" Brooke screamed outside after school. Her teeth suddenly looked pointier, her eyes pools of flames. "I'M GOING TO KILL THEM, CUT THEM UP, AND THEN FEED THEM TO THE SHARKS!" The only thing holding her back was her boyfriend.

"Calm down babe!" Todd advised her. "It's after school! Don't tell me you forgot about the plan, did you?"

She suddenly froze, an evil smile plastered on her face. "Oh yeah………"

* * *

Brooke and the Populars were now fully armed. They had it all. Hammers, pliers, wrenches, scissors, etc. They even had some crowbars. Of course, it seemed a little odd when they were walking down the street with the tools, but they just shook off the stares that the bystanders gave them. They had a mission to complete.

Once they finally got there, everyone was amazed at how trashed the place was.

"Did I see graffiti on the side of it?" asked Connor.

"Yeah," Brooke answered. "I've read it, there's some heavy stuff."

"What the heck was this dump anyway?" Todd pondered, looking up.

"I don't know, but my dumb brother told me that a bunch of kids used to come here…" Shawn answered, scratching his head. "He's in the Kids Next Door, so he's probably telling the truth."

Brooke's face had a look of disgust on it. "_The Kids Next Door?_ Oh my gosh, I hate those little brats!" she answered. "My sister Angela is in it too! Did you know that they had a revolt and got the government to make it legal for kids to drink soda? She's off the wall now, drinking soda all the time and bugging me to death! She and her stupid KND friends even stole my makeup to make weapons with them! Ugh! Sometimes I wish that Father guy wasn't in prison…." she grumbled.

"Father?" Connor said. "The guy in the top-secret heavily guarded prison on Bully Island?"

"Yeah, that one!"

"Didn't Father used to be, like, a huge villain against the KND?" Delilah asked Brooke.

"Yeah, and he recruited teenagers to fight them! I would've just LOVED to beat up a bunch of kids!" Brooke grinned evilly, imagining the prospect of demanding children to obey her every command.

"Yeah, I would've liked that too!" Her boyfriend agreed eagerly. "I hate kids just as much as you do! Too bad that 'Legendary Sector V', like they call them, got him in the doghouse. I heard they defeated him on the day before their oldest member's thirteenth birthday, right before getting her memory swiped. Numbuh Five, I think…."

Brooke suddenly realized that they had totally gotten of topic and forgot about their mission, and quickly reminded them that it wasn't the time for chat, but the time to destroy the beloved haven of our heroine. They immediately stopped.

"Kuki isn't going to be here today," the unnatural blonde told them. "She headed towards the direction of her house, so it'll be fine to just go inside. Let's go."

"Wait, the door isn't locked?" Connor took a look at the door, confused. Brooke laughed. "No, the girl is too dumb to install a lock! The door used to have a ton of locks, but for some reason they all broke." She opened the door to show the many chains and locks, all broken or rusted.

"You've been in here before?" Todd asked.

"Yeah, I surveyed the place before devising our little plan. C'mon. Delilah, keep watch."

Delilah nodded and stood outside with eagle eyes, while the others walked downstairs.

When they all got down there, they all lied and said that it was stupid to hang out there, while they were actually quite jealous. They didn't admit it, of course, but doesn't everyone want there own little place to hang out, that nobody else (supposedly) knew about?

Well, they wouldn't be jealous for long.

"LET THE DESTROYING BEGIN!" Todd shouted.

In minutes the place was destroyed. The beanbags were ripped to shreds, sending all the tiny white beads all over the floor. They took apart the shelves, and then ripped all the books apart, making jokes about how many self-help books there were. They took hammers and tore out some of the floorboards. Lamps were smashed.

It was a wreck, and to them it was the most fun they'd had in ages. They were sprawling on the floor with laughter by the end of it.

"I think we did a good job, don't you babe?" Todd asked Brooke, snaking his arms around her from behind.

"Oh, but this isn't the end of it," she replied, grinning evilly. "Now that the worthless loser has made a friend, we're going to have to make her life even more terrible."

* * *

_Ding dong! _went the doorbell of the Sanban house. Kuki's head snapped up, interrupting her nap. Her sister was at Sandy's house (shocker!), and Kuki had been _bored. _She already finished her homework and nothing good was on the television. Sure, there were plenty of other things she could have done, but the school day had been so tiresome that her brain said _Couch. Tired. Nap. _

Groggily she got up, wondering who it could be. Were they expecting company today? A package, perhaps?

Nope. To her surprise, it was Wally.

"Wally?" she said, opening the door. "H-Hey," she stuttered in her shy voice. "Um…..Hi." What was he here for?

"Hey Kooks," he greeted back, using her new nickname. He looked somewhat strange, as if he didn't know what he was doing there either. "I was just walking in the neighborhood, thought I'd drop by."

This was a complete lie. They had exchanged everything back at school, like phone and cell numbers, and addresses too. Kuki enjoyed this thoroughly, by the way. After all, that was even _more _proof that she finally, _finally_, had a friend. Wally was also bored, and since Kuki was his only friend, thought that maybe she could think of something for them to do. He came on purpose. Of course, he was just too cool and tough to admit it.

He was nervous though. Kuki was still a girl, and he still didn't know exactly what to do about that.

"Oh, okay. Um, won't you come in?" She opened the door a little wider and stepped aside to let him in.

"Nice digs," Wally commented, looking around. Everything looked perfect, not a speck out of place. It was furnished a little to business-like for his taste, but it was still nice. But it also felt…..kind of unfriendly.

"Thanks, my parents furnished it."

"Oh, are they around?"

He saw Kuki's face go from pleased to sadness. "No….They usually aren't…"

Wally felt confused, not for the first time during these crazy few days. "Why?"

Kuki realized she was being a downer, and tried to perk up a bit, trying to make her voice sound cheery. "They just really love their jobs. They're very dedicated."

"Oh…I get it…."

Silence.

"W-would you like something to drink?" she asked him, heading towards the kitchen. "It's really hot outside."

He let out a sigh of relief, finally glad to have something to talk about. "Yeah, it's a real scorcher. I was sweating on my way over here, and I wasn't movin' very fast."

Kuki came back out of the kitchen with a glass of lemonade for him, which he gulped right down. "Aaaah,. That was good," he said, smiling and wiping his mouth with his sleeve. She smiled. "I'm glad….Um….W-Wally?"

"Yeah?"

She had never done this before. Never in her life. She wasn't even sure if he would _like _the suggestion, but there was nothing to do, and she wanted more practice with the whole friend thing.

"Would….Would you…..Um….Would you like…..?"

Wally's mind was racing. _She isn't gonna ask if she can kiss me or something, is she? Or if I'll do something stupid or girly, is she? Oh crud oh crud oh crud oh crud_….

Kuki shut her eyes tight, and asked, "Would you like to go to my hangout with me?"

Oh. _That's _what she wanted to do!

"You mean that place you were at yesterday?"

Her eyes opened. "Y-yeah…"

"Okay. Sounds fun."

* * *

Something wasn't right. Kuki could feel it the closer they got to the abandoned bar. Over the years Kuki had developed a sense of foresight for when something terrible was about to happen. Something big.

Wally noticed the fear on her face as he walked beside her on the sidewalk. "Hey," he said, bending down to look at her eye-to-eye. "You feelin' okay?"

_No…No, not at all._

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she answered, smiling sheepishly.

"You sure? You look like something's wrong."

"N-no, everything is fine…."

The fear grew stronger and stronger, and when they finally got to the hangout…..

"The door!" she yelled, running to the entrance. The door laid on the sidewalk, ripped by the hinges. Wally ran to her side. "What happened? The door fell off?" he asked, hands on his knees.

Kuki didn't answer him, and ran inside, and he followed suit.

The place was a disaster.

"What the crud happened here?!?!" Wally said, surveying the place. As mentioned earlier in the chapter, everything was ruined. Kuki happened to be standing at a section of floor without floorboards, and she completely broke down, starting to cry the second she saw the place.

To her the whole thing was a symbol. This is what they did to her over the years. First she was happy and joyful, but then as soon as she turned thirteen she was abandoned, just like Lime Ricky's. She started to wear out, and then those around her started destroying her on the inside. Just like the popular kids had done to the hangout.

"No!" she said through her tears. "Why now? Why now? What did I do? I don't understand! Why Wally? ……What did I do wrong? I know you haven't been here long, but what did I do wrong?!?" It was hard to understand her because of all the sobbing, but he understood every word.

He wasn't sure whether to understand her or not, so he just stood and looked at her, his eyes slanted and his face angry.

"You didn't to anything Kuki. Nothin' at all. We'll find out who did this…And when we do…." His hands turned into fists. "They're gonna wish they didn't."

He already had a hunch that it was Brooke and Todd and the rest of the others, but said nothing about it.

She looked up at him. Of course, he was all blurred because of all the tears, but she looked at him nonetheless. She wondered if he was her guardian angel or not.

"You…..You're so kind……" she whispered.

Wally grinned, his eyes still slanted. "Heh, no I'm not. Believe me, I've been in more fights than a person should. But….I like ya, Kuki. I can't say I know why, but I do. And nobody messes with my friends." He blushed, not because he had special feelings for her (not yet), but he wasn't' usually this…..well, sweet.

He reached out to lend her a hand to get up, and she shyly and hesitantly took it.

"Well then, I s'pose we'd better get this place cleaned up," said Wally, letting go of her hand. "How 'bout we fix it all on Friday?

"Fix it?"

"Well yeah!" He spread his arms wide. "We'll make this place better than it was before! My pop taught me some basic woodwork, so I can fix the broken floorboards, and the shelf. We'll have to get new stuff, but I'm sure we can get the money. Maybe that Italian friend of yours can get us jobs there or somethin'."

"He would!" Kuki said eagerly. "He's offered me a job before, and I'm sure he would give you one too. So…..Wait…." Her face relaxed. "You'd help me….fix this place?"

"Well sure!" Wally said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "And I was thinkin' maybe we could call this _our _hangout…Only if you want to though. I kinda like this place."

Kuki smiled a smile Wally had never seen before. It was a huge smile, one that went as long as a smile could possibly go. Her eyes were open wide, shining.

"I would love that."

* * *

**I am so sorry how long this took! So much has been happening that I didn't update that fast. Thank you for reading this, you all have been very patient! I also hope you enjoyed my own made-up KND history. That was fun writing. :)**

**I'll update soon. tater06, out!**


	7. Getting Jobs

**Once again, I got great responses from the reviewers, and my confidence is over the roof! I'm really happy with the results I keep getting, and the support from all of you is irreplaceable! Thank you all so much! I'm so sorry how long the wait has been. I just have one thing I feel like I need to say. Kuki's voice as shy and quiet. That's the voice I always imagine it in, so that's what she sounds like in the story. Just thought I'd clear that up. J Thanks again for the reviews everybody, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! NOTICE: There's a little language in this chapter. I apologize for this. I had to do it for the overall effect of the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door. The only person with the right to say that is Mr. Warburton. I thank him for his brilliant ideas. GO MR. W!! I don't own Umberto's Pizza either. I just borrowed the name.**

_Finding Happiness_

**Chapter 7:**

**Getting Jobs**

It was a beautiful morning, and everybody was outside waiting for school to start. Near the school's entrance is where all the 'popular' teens gathered, gossiping and just in general having a good time. Of course, Brooke and Todd were there.

The couple just happened to be talking about their favorite little 'outcast.'

"I wonder if she knows we did it," said Todd, leaning against the school's outside walls. "I mean, we mess with her the most."

"Who cares?" Brooke said smirking, leaning next to him. "What can she do? Nothing."

"I dunno, what about that Wally kid? I'm not scared of him or anything," he added quickly. "It's just I think he might be a problem for us."

She laughed. It was the kind of laugh that at first sounded like an angel's, but if you listen harder, you can sense it's actually quite evil.

"Don't you worry about him, baby. I'm sure we'll find a way to end their friendship somehow." She paused, then said, "And anyways, he wouldn't dare go near _me. _You know better than everyone that no guy can resist me."

Todd thought about Wally's first day at school, and how Brooke had flirted with him and got no response. He was used to her flirting with other guys. He thought it was just who she was. He was lucky enough to even be dating her, so he never commented on it, no matter how jealous it made him.

"Yeah. Of course," he said, smiling weakly. "Nobody can resist you."

* * *

"You…..You think Brooke did it?" Kuki asked Wally, under the tree outside of school (they decided that would be their usual meeting place).

"Her friends too, Kuki. I'm positive they did it. It makes sense, doesn't it?" he answered.

Yes, it did make sense. She could just imagine them all, tearing down her beloved little haven. "But…How did they know that I go there? How did they find it?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea. But here's the thing Kooks. They're so bored with their lives that they thought it would be fun to tear up the hangout, and see you suffer through it. You _cannot _give them that satisfaction. You have to totally pretend nothin' happened, or else they'll attack you even more."

"But….I _did _suffer through it. I'm still sad about it. I…I don't think I can do that."

"Yes you can, Kuki! You just gotta believe in yourself, that's all there is to it! Don't give them the satisfaction, Kuki. Don't."

She stared at the ground to avoid his gaze on her. Believe in herself? Since when did _that _ever work? Every time she tried to do that she just ended up getting teased even more!

Wally looked away. _Toughening her up is gonna be harder than I thought. She really does think she's just some useless little outsider. Man…._

"Anyway, you ready for today? We agreed we'd go to Mr. Melloni's today to ask for jobs, right?"

She looked up again. "Y-Yeah, we did. Um, Wally?"

"Yeah?"

"You really…..You really don't need to do this for me, you know. You don't have to get a job, you don't…."

"No no no!" he interrupted, wagging his finger at her and smiling. "Don't try to talk me outta this one, Kooks. I'm doing it anyway. I wanna help you. That's what friends are for. Besides, I could use some money, after we're done with the hangout. I won't have to ask my parents for cash anymore."

Her heart lifted at the word _friends. _"Y-You're sure?"

_Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggg! _Went the bell.

"Well, guess we'd better get going," he said, beckoning her to follow him. "And yes, I'm sure."

* * *

School was hard to get through for Wally that day. All he could do was stare at the back of the Populars' heads, wishing they would explode.

_Those stupid creeps. They think they can just get away from anything, just 'cause they're so popular. Brooke and Todd are the worst of them all. They can all go to hell, for all I care. I oughta pound em', that's what I oughta do…..The guys, that is. Can't hit girls, that's bad. Maybe for the girls I can, I dunno, steal their makeup or something._

He imagined all of the girls, screaming because they couldn't find their makeup. It made him grin rather evilly. He grinned even more when he thought about beating up Todd, and all the others. _Heh heh heh….._

He knew he couldn't do it though. At least not now. If he did that, they might just pick on Kuki even more, and he had to teach her how to be stronger first.

That was his grand plan. As Kuki's only friend he would teach her how to defend herself, both physically and mentally, and let her know that she really _isn't _some worthless little outsider. It would take a really long time, he knew, but he just couldn't let her be picked on like this. Not anymore. Not while he was around.

His eyes stared at the clock, waiting for the boring class to end. It was almost two-thirty, the time school was out. It was two-twenty.

_C'mon you stupid clock! I got better things to do than sittin' around waiting for you to ring! _

He hadn't really been paying attention to the class at all, really. He was too lost in his own thoughts. That happened to him a lot, as he wasn't really the kind of guy that liked school. Sure, it had it's uses, but it was _just __**so **__boring! _His problems (well, technically, Kuki's problems) were too important to ignore.

_Let's hope that Mr. Melloni guy gives us jobs. I don't think we can really fix that old bar until we both cough up some cash._

Wally really didn't mind getting a job. His parents were always nagging him about getting one, saying that he couldn't always sponge off of them, and that he should learn to appreciate "knowing your money was earned by you, not someone else." He knew they would be ecstatic about it.

And like he had said earlier, the extra money would be very good to have.

The last ten minutes of class dragged on, but couldn't last forever. When the bell finally rang, Wally jumped out of his seat and into the hallway, to look for his new, shy little friend.

* * *

"E-Excuse me, p-pardon me! I-I have to get through," Kuki politely said, trying to get through the herd of students. She was only a few halls away from the front door……

Ugh, there were so many _people!_ She thought it would never end. She was so confused in trying to get through that she eventually slammed into someone, and falling onto the floor from the impact.

"What the….? Who did that?" The person turned around, and Kuki's eyes widened.

_Todd……._

Out of all the people in the whole school, Todd was the second-most feared person on Kuki's danger list. His girlfriend was in first place. Nonetheless, he was a guy, and he had muscles. He always seemed like the kind of guy that just might hit her one day. He always had a look, a look that sent shivers down her spine every time.

She froze. "T-T-Todd…I….I….I…I…"

"'I…I…I…'" he mocked, making his voice high and shrill. Then his face looked angry. "Listen, you little piece of garbage, I don't like to be run into, especially by someone as low as you."

"I-I know, and….."

"And what? You tryin' to apologize or something? HAH!" he chuckled. "I don't give a damn about your stupid apologies! You're just a little worm that happened to get in my way. Why don't you get the heck outta here, you little rat? Go on, scurry on home!" He gave her a little kick on the shoulder as if she were some animal.

"Y-Yes! O-Of course! I'm sorry!" She sprang up on her feet and did exactly what he told her to do. She was outta that school in two shakes of a lamb's tail.

_He's so scary…._

Straightening herself up, she looked over to the tree and sure enough, Wally was underneath it waiting for her. Luckily, he wasn't looking her way at the time.

_I'd better not tell Wally about what just happened. He might try to convince I'm better than I really am….And what's the point in that?_

When she finally got her clothes smoothed out and her hair in place, she walked towards him. "H-Hi Wally!"

He turned his head and smiled. "Hey Kooks! What took ya so long?"

She finally got up to him and tried to think of a lie. "Um, I was just..uh…g-getting some b-books…from my locker." Todd's face flashed in her mind.

"Oh. Okay. Why are you stuttering so much?" He looked concerned, and he was. _She looks scared or somethin'.__Maybe she stutters when she's nervous? _he wondered.

"I stutter a lot….I'm sorry if it bothers you…." she said sincerely. "I don't mean to, I just do…."

He started waving his hands in front of him. "No no no! It doesn't bother me at all! You don't have to apologize or nothin'!" He paused, then said "You don't have to apologize for everything you do, Kuki."

She started to calm down. "Oh…Okay…" Secretly though, she thought she did.

"Okay then! Let's head on over to Mr. Melloni's then, huh? Get ourselves some jobs, yeah!" He started walking. "You're gonna have to lead the way, 'cause I have no idea where the crud it is."

She hurried to him and stayed by his side. "I can do that….But……."

"But what?"

"W-What if he doesn't give us jobs?"

Wally scratched his head, thinking. "I guess we'll have to look for different ones then. But didn't you say that Mr. Melloni guy was your friend?"

"Well, yes, but….just casual friends….." _I'm still lonely, though…._she thought.

"So? Friends are friends. We'll just waltz in there, be charming, and bam! We're hired!" he answered, pounding his fist onto his hand.

"Charming?"

"Yeah. You're supposed to be cute, and I'm supposed to be a gentleman." He smiled at the thought of _him _being a _gentleman_. He could've laughed.

"C-CUTE? Huh? What? I have to be cute?" She pulled at her hair, freaking out. "I don't know how to be cute! Brooke is cute, not me! Oh gosh, do people tend to hire cute girls? What am I gonna do then? Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh…"

Wally laughed. "Calm down, Kooks! Sheesh, you look like you just lost your best friend!"

Her face grew sad. She looked like she lost her best friend? Who was that, exactly? "Oh, yeah…Sorry…"

"It's no big deal. And….." He started rubbing the back of his head and looked away from her. "Who said you weren't cute? You look fine to me…." His face turned red. "I mean, I don't really think of girls that often, but you aren't ugly or nothin'….."

Kuki blushed. "R-Really? You really think I'm not……ugly?" She stared at the sidewalk.

"N-No…..You're not ugly."

She thought she was ugly anyway, but the comment made her heart soar.

They had an akward silence then, at first. After a while they just began to enjoy each other's company in silence, Wally's hands shoved in his pockets, and Kuki's hands holding on to her book bag's straps.

It only took them about ten minutes to finally get there. They looked at each other before entering inside, their faces saying _Are you ready for this? _They nodded, and entered.

Lucky for them it was a slow day at Umberto's Pizza, and they spotted Mr. Melloni right away.

"Yes, yes, don't forget to add the olives, and……" Mr. Melloni paused instructing his employee when he saw Kuki at the corner of his eye.

"Kuki! There you are! What happened the other day? You order pizza and then you not here!"

She grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Melloni…We just had to go, and…"

"Oh, is alright! The important thing is you are here now, everything okay now! Come, come, sit, talk to me. You too, uh….."

"Wally."

"Yes! Yes! Wally…Come this way." He led them to a table towards the back and they all sat down. "So," began Mr. Melloni. "What brings you here?"

Kuki and Wally looked at each other, then back at him. "Well…." Wally started. "The thing is, we both kinda need some cash….And since Kuki here is such good friends with you…We were wonderin' if maybe we could apply for jobs here?"

The Italian smiled. "Finally, Kuki, you want a job here! I've been waiting so long for you to want a job here! And now you bring your boyfriend…."

"I'm not her boyfriend…"

"…..To work with you! I am very happy now!" He got up on his feet.

"I will just go and get the applications for you! Yes, yes, and while I do that, you stay right here!" He zoomed out of room and into the back room.

"Well……" Wally started, staring after Mr. Melloni. "That was easy."

Kuki laughed quietly. "He's been trying to get me to work with him for a while now…"

"How come you didn't accept the job then?"

"Because it made me feel nervous. I had a job before, but I only worked there for a little while…And you have to talk to people you don't know when you are a waitress…But we need money now, so…..I'll try my best." She wasn't very confident in herself.

"You'll do fine!" Wally said, leaning against his chair. "You just need a little practice. No worries."

How she wished she could be like him…He was so laid back!

Mr. Melloni then reappeared, carrying the applications. He handed one to each of them and said, "Now all you have to do is fill these out, and you get the job! You will both be servers, and you can come in on Monday so we can…..What do you Americans say? Oh, yes, it's 'show you the ropes.' Yes. Questions?"

"Nope!" Wally answered, and he and Kuki got up. "Thanks a lot, mate!"

The Italian had a confused look on his face. "Uh, you are welcome…._mate_."

Mr. Melloni watched the two of them leave, and a smile grew on his face. "That boy is good for her, I think," he said to himself. "I do not think that they will be just friends for much longer.....I can feel it."

* * *

**I was going to make the chapter longer, but I really couldn't find a good place to start the whole clean-up-the-hangout part, so I'll just have that happen in the next chapter. I'm sorry it's taking me so long to update! I have no idea when I'll actually finish the whole story. I just hope people will still be reading KND fanfics by the time it's done! **

**Please, if my writing has mistakes, or if the chapter is too confusing or choppy or just bad, please let me know. This chapter was definitely not my best, but I hope it's satisfactory. Thanks again!**


	8. Bonding

**Wow, I got so many great reviews! Thank you guys so much! I'm hoping this chapter will be more satisfying than the last, as I put more effort into this one. I don't know much about fixing stuff and all that though, so expect the whole 'fixing the hangout' part to be kind of vague. In fact, I may just get this stuff entirely wrong. If so, whoopsie!**

**Disclaimer: Ah, I'm too lazy to think of a witty way of saying I don't own Codename: Kids Next Door.**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 8:

Bonding

"Alrighty then, let's get to work!" Wally exclaimed, holding a toolbox in his left hand. It was a beautiful Friday afternoon, and the school day had just ended. The school day was the same as any other day. Kuki was still treated like an outcast, as usual, and Wally suffered through his boring classes. They ate lunch together, which was always nice. They usually talked about how their day had been, or anything good that happened to them.

Of course, Kuki didn't talk that much, so Wally always did his best trying to get her to talk. He would ask her questions, and she would answer them, and vice versa. They were getting to know each other, and they got along pretty great.

The really funny thing was that Wally had the personality that Kuki had sometimes feared in people. He was strong, tough, and proud. But this time it was in a good way. And even though he wasn't the nicest guy in the world, to Kuki he was a saint. Of course, he told her a few stories about the fights he'd been in, but it didn't affect her opinion of him.

Of course, Kuki's personality still confused Wally. He thought girls were supposed to be selfish, materialistic, stuck-up, shop-a-holics, and obsessed with diets.

This was not the case for Kuki. She thought of everybody before herself. She didn't need a lot of things to make her happy. All she wanted were friends. She wasn't even close to being stuck-up. She lacked self-confidence instead. She didn't normally shop a lot, and she ate whatever she wanted.

They still had a lot to learn about each other, but they were still good friends.

They just arrived at the old abandoned bar after going into Wally's garage to get the tools they needed.

"Let's fix the floorboards first," Wally suggested to Kuki. "We don't wanna be trippin' over them, after all."

"That sounds fine," she agreed in her shy, sweet voice. In her arms were trash bags and a hand vacuum cleaner.

They laid their supplies on the floor, and Wally took out a hammer. "Okay then, you can hold the floorboards down for me while I hammer it down, alright?"

"Okay." They both went to the first floorboard and they both got down the floor. Kuki held the board down while he got a few nails out. "Let's see here….." He held up the first nail and continuously hammered it until it was completely in. "First one done, keep holdin' it down," he instructed her. This pattern continued on with all the boards, and it didn't take them very long. The popular people had only ripped out a few boards, so it only took them about fifteen minutes to get them all down.

Kuki felt useless throughout the whole thing. _Wally is doing all the work, _she thought sadly. _All I'm doing is holding down a board. _

"Um, Wally?"

"Yeah?" He was concentrating hard on hitting the nail.

"Um, how about when we're done with this, I can vacuum up the beads that came out of the beanbags?" If she did that she would feel less useless.

Wally smiled. "I hate vacuumin', so that's fine with me, Kooks. And now that this board is finished I think we just have one more to go…." They went over to the last one.

"Alright, after this we'll be done," he said, getting down on the floor again, Kuki following. She once again held down the board, and he hammered.

"I'm glad this is the last one, 'cause my arm hurts," Wally said.

She smiled. "Yeah…..Wally?"

"Hmm?"

"Th-Thanks for…..for doing this for me….It's….It's just so kind of you…."

For a split second he looked up at her. "Hey, it's no problem. I…OW!"

Unfortunately, once he had taken his eyes away from the hammer, he struck his finger with it.

"Ah! Man that hurts!" he said, looking at the finger. It was all red.

"Are you okay?" Kuki asked him, taking the finger in her hands and looking at it. "Is it bleeding?"

It was. Some blood was coming out from under the fingernail.

"Ah, that was a stupid thing for me to do," he said, wincing. "Ow."

Kuki got up and started to head towards the back, where the bathrooms were when the bar was still in business. "H-hold on, just for a minute! I've got a first aid kit!"

"You keep a first-aid kit here?"

"Y-Yes, let me go get it…." she disappeared into the back and came out again, holding a small, clear blue box with a red cross on it.

"Here, give me your finger," she said. He obliged and asked, "Why the crud do you keep a first-aid kit here?"

"Accidents can happen anytime, so I like to be prepared," she answered. "Believe me…I know…."

"What do you mean, 'you know'?"

She ignored the question and took out some gauze to clean up the blood. She did it very gently, as if it were the finger of a young child. After finishing that task, she took out some antiseptic, and put some on.

"Hey, that stings!" Wally objected, wincing some more.

"That just means it's healing," Kuki answered back. "But don't worry, you don't need to much…..We just don't want your finger to get infected……"

"You really know your stuff, huh?" Wally said, smiling.

Kuki blushed. "I….Well, I want to be a nurse, when I get older," she said, putting on the band-aid. "I…I want to help people, and make them feel better….I don't know if I can do it or not, but……"

"Of course you can!" he objected, cutting her off. "You can be anything you wanna be! Don't let those stupid kids at school make you think you can't. They're just so stupid they don't know just how stupid they are!"

She looked at the floor. "I don't know…I mean, what if I just can't do it? What if I'm not good at it? I'm not good at anything, I…."

"Stop doubting yourself!" he interrupted again. "I saw that drawing of yours, and it's terrific, Kuki. You're good at that! And my finger feels so much better! I can't even tell that I hurt it!"

She remained silent. Wally sighed.

"Those guys really hurt you, didn't they?" he whispered. "You just don't think you're worth anything, do you? You really believe what those jerks say….You're just a sad, lonely little sheila, aren't you?"

She looked like she wanted to cry.

"Well," he said rather loudly, laying his hand on her shoulder. "You've got me now, and I'm gonna be the best friend you ever had! I'll make you so happy you won't know what hit ya! What do you say to that?!?" He slit his eyes and grinned, as if he were challenging her.

She looked into his eyes, and really looked into them. What she saw was determination, confidence, courage…..

_They're beautiful_, she thought, wishing she had those eyes. But she was so confused. Why was this guy, this tough, strong guy, being so nice to her. Being her _friend?_

"Why are you so nice to me?" she asked, "when you could have so many other friends? If you're friends with me, everyone might treat you the way they treat me. I don't want that to happen to you…."

"Ha!" Wally crossed his arms. "You think I care what a bunch of stuck up jerks think of me? They don't scare me. Nobody scares me," he said, smug. "You know how many fights I've been in? Fifteen. Number of times I've won a fight? Fifteen. Everybody back in my school in Australia knows not to mess with me, or my friends. And pretty soon everybody in this school is gonna know it too."

His face softened. "As for why I'm so nice to ya…..Well, I like you. You're a nice person. Like, super nice. Even after all the crap that people have been giving you, you're really nice. Brave too. I mean, they make your life miserable and yet you still get up and go to school everyday. I respect that."

_And I really wanna help you with your problems…Although I don't know why…….I just do._

She blushed. "You…….You really think that about me?"

He nodded.

"Th-Thank you….." She looked into his eyes again, and he looked back.

They both thought, _You have pretty eyes. _

They also both looked away after thinking it and blushing.

_Ah! What was that? _Kuki panicked.

_What the crud did I just think? _Wally mentally slapped himself.

"Uh, um…" Wally cleared his throat. "Okay, then, I guess I'll just finish hammering this board now…"

"I don't want you to hurt your hand again!" Kuki looked worried. He grinned.

"Don't worry, I'll pay attention this time…Just keep holding that board down…"

They finished, and then Kuki got to vacuuming up the little beads from the beanbag chair. She had to empty the vacuum in a trash bag a lot though, because there were just so many beads! When she finished Wally took the remains of the bean bag chair and threw them in the trash bag too.

They also picked up the broken light bulbs and the various pieces of trash Brooke and her gang left behind.

But their work wasn't done after that. Soon after they began working on the door. Wally managed to get the door back on, Kuki assisting him. It took them a while, but if finally got done.

"I wish I knew how to put a lock on it," Wally said, looking at the finished door. "But my dad never taught me how to do that."

"That's okay," Kuki assured him. "When we get money will just get really cheap things, so if anybody steals things it won't be a terrible loss."

"Yeah…I guess that's what we'll have to do. We can't hire a guy to do it, since this place isn't really _ours. _Anybody else knowing we're in here could screw it all up and not let us in anymore…."

To Kuki that would've been a nightmare.

"Well then, I guess we've done all we can do," Wally stated. "The shelf is a massacre. I don't think I can fix it. Sorry…."

"No no no!" Kuki assured him. "It's okay, really! You've done enough! I'll find another place to put my books, it's okay!"

Wally chuckled. She was just _so _nice. "Thanks Kuki. So….I guess I'd better go home now….."

"Oh! Yes! Me too," said Kuki.

Silence.

"You wanna hang out tomorrow? Do something?" Wally asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" She wasn't expecting that.

"Do you wanna hang out tomorrow?"

_He….He wants me to hang out with him! Me! ME! _She felt like fainting. "Really?"

"Y-Y-Yes!" Kuki said. "I…I would like that!"

He smiled at her again. He always smiled at her. That was so nice…She liked it.

"Okay then…Um, what do you like to do?"

"Uh….." she thought about it. There were lots of things she liked to do. _What does Wally like to do….? _She had to pick something they both would like. She tried to remember what he said he liked at the first day of school. _He likes wrestling, root beer, and…….videogames. Wait, VIDEOGAMES! _She loved videogames herself. She had a DS back at her house, and played it often. It was a good way to occupy her mind and take her someplace else, where life wasn't so bad.

"Do…Do you want to go to the arcade?" she asked him.

"Arcade? There's an arcade here?"

She nodded yes. "It's new. It opened last year…Do you want to go there?"

His face lit up. "Yes! Wait…..You like videogames?"

"Y-Yes….Is that weird?" She blushed.

"Well, I didn't think girls liked videogames… I thought all they liked were makeup and puppies and chick-flicks and all that sort of crud," he said, scratching his head.

"I like those things too, except makeup…."

_Wow, she likes videogames…._

"Well, okay then! I'll come by your house around….is one okay?"

"That's fine."

"All right then, see you tomorrow!"

"Okay, bye!"

They departed ways, and Kuki was on Cloud Nine. She was hanging out with Wally tomorrow.

_Tomorrow is gonna be great!_

* * *

_Wally laid on the hospital bed, covered in scratches and bruises, and bleeding everywhere. He had a black eye, his hair was ruffled everywhere, and his clothes were torn. He was a lot older._

"_Oh, I can't believe I lost that fight!" he moaned to himself. "Stupid guy….He made fun of Kuki and got away with it! Dang it!" He was in so much pain._

"_Wally?" said a sweet, shy voice, the door opening slightly. "Are you okay?" She walked in, wearing a nurse uniform._

"_Kuki….." he said, smiling. "You're gonna take care of me today?"_

_She smiled. "Yes, and…I heard what happened…Thank you, Wally…"_

"_Nobody makes fun of you when I'm around!"_

_She cleaned up all his cuts and bruises very gently and lovingly, making sure everything would heal properly. "There," she said, finishing up. "You'll heal up nicely now. _

"_But it still hurts! And don't say that just means it's healing…"_

_She giggled. "Okay…Just try not to get into any more fights, okay?"_

"_I can't guarantee that." _

_She laughed again. Her laugh was so angelic….She was older as well._

_A dark-skinned woman with a scrub and stethoscope around her neck walked in, her long black hair behind her back. "Nurse, did you take care of our little roughhouser here?"_

"_Yes, Dr. Lincoln," she answered._

"_Alright, lemme take a good look at him…." She walked up to him and looked him over. "Alright, then, Wally, just take it easy for a few days and put some ice on that eye. You should be fine in a week or so. Got it?"_

_He grinned. "Yes, Abby."_

_Dr. Lincoln furrowed her brows and grinned. "That's Dr. Lincoln to you, sir. Alright then, good job Kuki. I'll be in room 434 checking on another patient."_

"_Yes, Dr. Lincoln. I'll see you later?"_

"_You bet." She left, and Kuki turned back to Wally. "Well, I guess that means you can go now…"_

_He frowned. "Nuh-uh! You missed a spot!"_

"_I did? Where?"_

_He pointed to his lips. "Right here."_

_A blush grew on her cheeks. "O-Oh. I…I can fix that…." They scooted closer to each other, and their faces got closer and closer…..Their lips were just about to touch when…._

Wally's head shot up from the covers. His eyes were opened wide, and looked as if he just saw a monster.

"WHAT THE CRUD?!?!?!?!?"

* * *

Kuki was smiling throughout the whole morning, and had a certain skip to her step. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so happy.

_I'm hanging out with my friend today!_

She kept looking at the clock, waiting for one o' clock. Why was it that you always had to wait for good things? They should come faster!

Mushi thought it was weird, seeing her sister happy. Wasn't she usually miserable? She was supposed to be miserable! She wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"Why are you so freakin' happy all of a sudden?" she asked her sister, leaning against the wall. Her sister was on the couch, watching TV.

"Oh, that's right. I didn't tell you, did I?" Kuki said, looking at her.

"Tell me what?"

"I made a friend, Mushi! His name's Wally! He's really nice, and really cool! He's from Australia, and he likes wrestling and videogames and he plays the guitar! I'm hanging out with him today! We're going to the arcade! Isn't that great?" She was talking and jumping around like a first grader, she was so excited.

_So that's it. She's got some new loser friend and now she's on top of the world. Stupid girl…._

"So you have one friend. Big whoop," Mushi said. "It doesn't change who you are, you know." _You're still a big, stupid loser._

Kuki frowned a little. "No…" she said, getting quieter. "But it still makes me really happy. He's so nice to me, Mushi. He makes me feel happy….."

Mushi snickered. "He probably just feels bad for you. Why else would he be friends with you? Because he likes you? Ha! Kuki, you're just a naturally unlikable person. Nobody would like a stupid, worthless idiot like you. He's just one of those special people that doesn't wanna see unhappy people, that's all. You DO know that, right?"

It was a harsh blow, and it showed. Her happy demeanor vanished immediately, and she gripped the couch. "No…" she whispered. "That can't be it…."

Mushi grinned. _I knew I could wipe that smug look of her ugly face. _"Believe it, Kuki. I tell you this because I care. About that friend of yours, that is. You don't want him to suffer, do you?"

"N-No, but…..He said….He said that he l-liked me b-because I was n-nice, and….."

"Lies," Mushi interrupted. "All lies."

"No…..They can't be…."

"They are. Now, if you excuse me, I have to go over to Sandy's house now. See ya, sis!" She left the room, and Kuki could her her walk through the door and slam it closed.

_No…..Wally wouldn't do that….He's not like that…..He likes me, he said so….I'm likable….right? He isn't forcing himself to be friends with me just to make me happy, right? Right? _She brought her legs up to her and hugged herself, making her into a little ball. Tears were forming in her eyes.

_Mushi is right……._

* * *

He would NOT tell Kuki about the dream. She could NEVER know about the dream. It would remain a secret forever, for only him to know.

It had been driving Wally crazy all day. Why did he have that dream? What did it mean? Was it a sign or was it just random? Should he do something about it?

He knew that the dream was going to be a problem. He didn't normally think this hard on Saturdays.

_And I'm goin' to the arcade with her today….._ He had been looking forward to it, until now. He considered just calling her and tell her he was sick, or injured. Then he thought of how sweet and shy she was, and how she had no other friends. But he was her friend. And he would always be hers. He didn't think it was possible that he would ever grow to like a girl, but he liked Kuki. He decided to just stick with the plan and just get through it.

_Poor girl….._ he thought, laying on top of his bed. _Why is everybody so cruddy mean to her? She didn't do anything! She's just a sweet, nice girl that likes to draw and play videogames and other stuff. She wants to be a nurse, for cryin' out loud! A nurse! After everything she goes through, she's still got a heart of gold! I don't think she has a mean bone in her body! I wish everybody at that school would just leave her alone. And they will, once I'm done with em'. And I'll teach Kuki how to stand up for herself. Maybe I can teach her how to punch like I do…._

He chuckled at the prospect of it. Kuki punching somebody…That would be the day.

Before he knew it, it was twelve-forty-five. Time for him to go.

_I'll just pick her up, and we'll have some fun. Just forget all about the dream, Wally. It never happened. What dream? I didn't have a dream. Yeah, that's it._

He arrived at her house just in time, and rang the doorbell. In his head he kept trying to convince himself that the dream meant nothing, and that it wasn't important.

Kuki opened the door. "Oh! H-Hi, Wally.." she said.

"Kuki?" He looked at her eyes, which her red all around. "Are you okay? You look like…Have you been crying?"

"N-No!" she protested, trying to act like everything was okay. "I'm fine! I just have something in my eyes!"

He frowned. "Kuki, that's the oldest trick in the book. Come on out here and talk to me, okay?"

"I…I…I…"

"Come on, Kuki." He took her arm and gently pulled her outside, and closed the door behind her. "Tell me what's wrong." The dream completely left his mind. His only concern was for Kuki at the moment.

She looked like she wanted to die. "Wally…You….Um…" She was afraid to say it.

He cocked his head. "What's up with you? What's wrong? Tell me."

She looked at the ground, as she often did. "Wally……" she said. "Do you…..You don't….You don't have to hang out with me if you don't want to…I-I appreciate everything you've done. You're so nice, b-but…I don't want you to h-hang out with me because…..because……"

"Because what?"

Tears started coming out of her eyes. "Because you feel bad for me…I-I know you p-probably don't want to h-hang out with a g-girl like m-me, and y-you don't have to b-be my fr-friend if you don't want t-to…."

"Now wait a minute! Where's this coming from?!?" Wally said, surprised. "Who the crud told you that? You think I'm your friend because I _feel bad for you?_ Are you saying that you think I don't _really want to be your friend_?"

She nodded miserably.

Wally looked at the sky, as if hoping to get an answer from it on what to do. "At first, yes….." he began, looking at her first. "I started to hang out with you because I felt bad for you. I didn't understand why people were making fun of you, and I still don't. But you know what? I'm not all that nice. I've already told you this. If I didn't like you, Kuki, then I wouldn't have cared how sad you were and I would have stopped being your friend. But I didn't. Because I think you're pretty cool."

"But we can't be friends if you believe everything people say about me. People will try to stop us from being friends, Kuki. I've seen how everybody acts at school, and that's what they're gonna do. They're gonna tell you that I don't really like you, that I don't really want to be your friend, and all sorts of different lies. But you _can't believe them_. It won't be true. I like you, you like me, we're friends. That's it. Done. Okay?"

She stopped crying, and looked back at him. She believed him. Every word of it. Wally wasn't the kind of guy to mess around with peoples' heads, and he never would be. He wasn't pretending. He was definitely her friend.

"Okay," she said silently. "I'm sorry, Wally….."

He walked up to her. "Who told you that crud, anyway? Should I beat him up?"

"It wasn't a boy……"

"Was it Brooke? I hate that girl, she……"

"I-It wasn't Brooke…"

"Then who was it?"

She was silent for a moment, and then spoke. "My little sister…"

Wally blinked a few times. _Her little sister? She told her that? Is her family mean too?_

"Your….Your SISTER said that?!?"

She nodded.

Wally didn't want to have her talk about it anymore. He could see just mentioning it hurt her. He had a ton of questions in his head, but he silenced them. They had planned to have some fun, and that's what they were going to do.

"C'mon," he said, taking her arm again. "Let's go."

"Go?" She looked confused. He looked back down at her.

"Well, yeah! We were goin' to the arcade, weren't we? Let's go!"

"S-So…You f-forgive me?"

He sighed. She worried too much. "Of course I forgive you," he said. "I was never mad at you in the first place. Just trust my word, and nobody else's, and we'll be fine. Okay, friend o' mine?"

She smiled. It was a small one, but it counted nonetheless. "Okay."

* * *

"So what game do you wanna play first? Racing, fighting, what?" Wally asked her, walking through the arcade's doors with Kuki.

"I don't know…." she answered. "There are so many…"

"Oh, let's try that one!" Wally said, pulling her over to a fighting game. "It looks pretty bloody! That's what I'm talkin' about! Let's see here…What….What the..?"

The game screen had the list of the highest scorers on, only for single players, and….

"Kuki, you're the highest scorer?!?!?!?" He couldn't believe it.

She blushed. "Um, I like to come here and play sometimes, so….."

"Do you know how amazing that is?!?!? 40,000 points! That's awesome! How the crud did you do it?"

"I practiced a lot," she said, hugging herself. Her face was still red. "I've never played a two-player game before…"

"Well, you will now!" he said, turning the game on. "Choose your player and show me your stuff!"

She beat his character in thirty seconds.

"Well….." he said, a little embarrassed. "Uh, that was…Wow…"

"I-I'm sure you'll get me eventually!" she said, feeling bad that she embarrassed him. "I've played it a lot! You'll get there!"

He stopped being embarrassed and laughed. "You worry _way _too much, Kuki! C'mon, let's try that one!"

They played every game there was to offer. Racing games, fighting games, adventure games, space games, motorcycle games, everything. Kuki proved to be better at the fighting games while Wally usually beat her at racing. They even played a dancing game, but they both sucked at it.

"Man, THAT'S what I call a good time!" Wally said to her, after they finished playing their last game. "You're a worthy opponent, that's for sure!"

She blushed at the compliment. "Thank you! You too! I had a ton of fun!" She smiled a huge smile, one that Wally didn't see very often.

It made him feel good, seeing her smile like that. _It's like the room lights up a little bit when she smiles, _he thought, than shook it away. _What kinda cruddy thought is that?!?!?_

His eyes then landed on something, and his eyes and his smile widened. "Hey, Kuki! We should do this!" He went over to it, and pointed at it. "We should take some pictures!" he said.

"Pictures?" She looked at the machine. "I never noticed this before…."

"Have you ever done it? My mates in Australia and I have done it plenty of times. Come on!" He pulled her into the machine, behind the curtain. "Sit down."

They sat next to each other. It was a little uncomfortable, being so close together, but they shook it off.

"Okay, now what you do is ya put some money in…" He put some coins through the slot. "Now you just pick a background, and it takes pictures! What background should we get?"

She looked at them all….There were so many! "How about the ones with the stars?" she asked, looking at the one that looked like the night sky.

"Alright, that's a good one…." He chose it. "Okay, now smile in 5.…4.…3.….2.…1!" He put his arm around her neck, making her blush a little, and they both smiled.

"Okay, now two more! Make a funny face!" he said.

"A funny face?"

"Yeah, stick your tongue out or something." He stretched his mouth and stuck out his tongue. "Like this!"

She followed suit, giggling, and then they had to make one more picture.

"What do we do now?" she asked him, wondering what to do next.

"Whatever you want!" he said. "It's a wildcard picture!" He put is head in her arms and gave her a noogie. "Smile Kuki!"

She laughed, and the picture took. She was really happy.

"Alright, we get out now," he said once the picture ended, "And it'll print out on it's own." They got out and waited for the pictures.

"There they are!" Kuki exclaimed, pointing. "Let's look!"

The pictures were great. Kuki made a mental note to put it in a special place when she got back home.

* * *

"Well, I had a lot of fun, Kuki," he said. "We should do it again sometime."

"Yeah!" she said. "I think we should too! I mean…" Her voice grew quieter. "I had so much fun…I can't remember the last time I had so much fun…Thank you…"

Wally felt a pang of sadness. _She couldn't remember the last time she had fun? Oh man…._

"Well, we're gonna have more fun!" he said, determined. "We'll have so much more fun your head will blow off from the excitement of it all!"

She laughed, making him smile. He liked her laugh…_Wait, what?_

"I'm looking forward to it."

At last they came to her house, and Kuki's happiness diminished a little. _Why did this day have to end?_

She turned to him. "Thanks for walking me home," she said shyly. "That was so nice of you…..Everything you're doing….It's been so nice. You're a great friend." She was blushing now.

He blushed too. "Aw, well, y'know, you're a great friend too. Really, you are…."

She hugged him.

She didn't think about it, she just did it. She surprised herself, putting her arms around him. It was as if someone took over her body and controlled it against her will. But it was too late, the deed was done. She was hugging him.

The weird thing was she didn't want to pull away.

Wally's eyes got big, surprised at the gesture. "Uh…." he said, his arms straight to his sides. "Um, well, uh…" Slowly, he got his arms to move around her too. "Okay…." he said, hugging her back, as if answering if it was okay for her to hug him or not.

They both grew warm inside, and they started feeling kinda weird. They weren't sure what the feeling was, but….

They liked it.

They hugged for a while, then slowly started to separate. "Uh…." Wally was blushing furiously. "Um, well, uh….."

"Yeah, uh…..Um…." Kuki said back.

Wally's arms returned to his sides. "Well, I guess I'll see you later then!" he said, smiling, nervous as heck. "Okay?"

"Okay!" she said, just as nervous and awkward as he was. "S-See y-you at school, Wally!"

"Y-Yeah, B-bye!" He stumbled over a rock, but quickly regained his composure. "Hah hah, didn't see where I was steppin' there…" he said, pointing at the rock. "Ha ha…"

She let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, ha ha…..B-Bye, Wally!"

"B-Bye, Kuki…" He walked away, and she started going up to her doorstep.

_What the crud just happened?!?!?_ Wally thought.

_Why do I feel so strange? _Kuki wondered, walking into the hallway.

Then it began to happen.

* * *

**LET THE GOOD PARTS BEGIN…..**


	9. Starting the Job

**Wow, I got so many good reviews! And on Deviantart there was a picture of them in the photo booth together, drawn by OrionStorm! IT'S AWESOME, YOU MUST LOOK AT IT!!!!!!! She also drew a picture of the hugging scene, so look at that too! Anyways, things are gonna start getting a little fluffier, so let's get started!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Codename: Kids Next Door, Mr. Warburton does. I'm just a fan, writing some fiction.**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter Nine

Starting the Job

_Kuki was walking on the sidewalk, the full moon lighting up the night sky. She was alone, and wasn't quite sure exactly how she got there. _

_Kuki started to shake a little, the cold breeze making her shiver. As the time passed she felt more and more nervous, wishing somebody was there to comfort her._

_**I'm scared**__, she thought, hugging herself for warmth. __**These streets don't look so safe….Why did I come here?**_

_A black cat yowled from the alleyway, making her jump. The cat then walked up to her, it's tail swishing side to side._

"_Oh, it's just a little kitty….Hello…." She bent down to pet the cat. He started to purr._

"_Do you have a home, little guy?" she asked, stroking his back. "Do you want to come home with me?"_

"_Oh, he isn't gonna want to go where you're goin', little missy," said a deep, gravelly voice, making her turn around._

_Standing there was a man, somewhere in his thirties. His greasy brown hair stuck out from his skullcap, his teeth stained and brown. He wore a wife-beater and a red jacket, torn jeans, and brown, dirty sneakers._

"_W-W-Who are y-you?" she asked, suddenly going frozen. The cat decided to leave the scene, but Kuki took no notice. _

_He cackled, and grabbed her sweater and pushed her into the wall of a store. "Me? Nobody important," he said, grinning. "You're a pretty young miss, I should say. I should take you home with me….." He stroked her cheek. _

"_N-N-No, that's okay," she said, her voice full of fear. "I-I need to get home and…."_

_He put his hand over her mouth and put his chapped lips up to her ears. "Oh, no you ain't," he whispered. His breath stunk. "You're comin' with me, little missy. And if you don't give in to my demands, well……" He brought a gun out of his pocket. "You're gonna have to die…."_

_Tears came out of her eyes, her heart pumping, her palms sweating. She wanted to shout for help, but nobody was around. __**Either I give in to his demands, or……**__ She gulped, crying some more. _

_**I'm done for…….**_

"_You better take your hands off of her right now….." said an venom-filled Australian voice. "Or I'll kill you myself!"_

_The man turned, looking at Wally. "Who are you?" he asked, bringing the gun up to him. _

"_The guy that's gonna kick your butt, that's who!" He kicked at the man's feet, sending the man down to the ground, dropping the gun. Wally tackled him, and pinned him down._

"_You slimy piece of scum!" he shouted, starting to punch the man in the face. "How DARE you touch her!" He punched him and punched him until his whole face was covered in blood. Wally then got up, taking the man's legs, and then throwing him against the wall. The man was knocked out._

_He immediately turned to Kuki, his face turning from a face that could kill to a concerned, worried look. "Kuki," he said, going up to her. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Are you alright?" He took her by the shoulders and checked her all over, scanning for any signs of injury._

"_I'm f-f-fine," Kuki said, her heart still racing from the attack. "You…..You saved me just in time. Thank you!" She hugged him, crying hard. _

"_Oh, Wally, I was so scared! I thought I was going to die, or…or….Oh, I don't even want to think about it!" She was shivering._

_Wally returned the hug, rubbing her back. "Kuki……" he said, his voice low. "It's okay, I'm here now….." He took her by the chin, and she stopped crying. "I won't let anybody hurt you," he said, looking straight into her eyes. "I love you too much to let that happen."_

_She smiled, her heart now beating fast for a completely different reason. "I love you too, Wally….I love you so much!" She buried her face into his hoodie. _

"_Kuki……" He held her tighter. When she brought her head back up, she looked up at him. "What would I ever do without you?"_

_He smiled. "I don't know what I'd do without you either, Kooks….." he whispered, putting her face in his hands. He was just about to kiss her, and…………._

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Kuki's eyes shot open, her hands gripping her blanket. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, and turned on the lamp on her nightstand, looking around her room.

_It was all a dream…._she thought, _and I……Wally….We……_Fragments of the dream went through her head, remembering it all. The cat, the man, Wally beating him up……..

_He said he loved me….I said I loved him….He….He was going to kiss me! _Her eyes grew wider. She couldn't believe what just happened.

Her eyes went back to the nightstand, and then looked at something laying right on top of it.

_The pictures from the photo booth…._ She picked it up, and looked at it. Those pictures were the most wonderful pictures she had ever seen, and felt happy every time she looked at them.

"Wally….."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kuki was late to school on Monday. Her alarm clock never went off, and she got up fifteen minutes later than she usually did. She got her morning tasks done hastily, and was gasping from running when she finally arrived at the school.

She went to the office to get a pass, and went to Biology, with Mr. Harrison.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Mr. Harrison," she said when she gave him her pass. "My alarm clock didn't go off, and…"

He shrugged it off. "It's no big deal, Kuki. Just go to your seat and we'll continue with the lesson." The class snickered at her.

She went to her seat quickly so the class would stop laughing at her. Wally was right there next to her.

She stiffened at the sight of him. Fragments of her dream popped up in her head. She had been thinking about it since yesterday. The dream seemed so real, but it was something that she thought would never happen. And the way they acted! In the dream they were…. They were…..

…..In love…..

"Hey, Kuki," Wally said with a grin. "Thought you might've been sick or something."

She smiled sheepishly. "Uh, well, my alarm clock didn't go off……."

He nodded in understanding. "I hate it when that happens," he added.

Despite his good attitude, Wally hadn't forgotten about his dream either. No matter how much he wished to forget about it, pictures of it would come back in his head. Like Kuki, the dream made him nervous too. What was a guy like him having a dream like that?

The lesson soon started. Kuki tried her best to pay attention, but the dream was the only thing that occupied her mind. She just couldn't figure it out. What did it mean? Was it a sign for something? She was confident that she and Wally would never be more than friends, so there had to be another reason for it.

But what?

She would never tell Wally about it. Ever.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted when Wally placed a folded piece of paper on her desk. She opened it up.

_Are you ready for work today?_

Kuki smiled. Of _course _she was ready! She was very eager to get some money for the hangout, and working with Wally sounded like fun.

_Yes, are you? _she wrote back.

_You bet I am! Maybe they'll let us eat some of the pizza!_

She laughed quietly when she read it. Did all boys like food that much? They wrote notes to each other for the rest of the class, each enjoying themselves.

They were both also trying their best to forget about their dreams.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This milk smells funny," said Wally, sitting next to Kuki at lunch.

"Oh, well you can get a new one. One that doesn't taste funny."

Wally continued to stare at the milk carton, then turned to Kuki and said, "You try it."

"No thank you," she replied, pushing it away from her. "I don't really like bad milk."

"But what if it's fresh and it's just all in my head? I don't wanna waste perfectly good milk!" he said. "So you try it and tell me what you think."

"No thank you."

"C'mon, you know you want to."

"I really don't want to…"

"If you taste it I'll give you a hundred bucks."

"No, I'm okay, really."

"Taste it, please."

"Wally….."

He made puppy dog eyes. "Pwease? For me?"

It worked, and Kuki took it. "Okay, if you really want me too…" She took a sip and spit it right out.

"Ew! It's disgusting," she said, her face showing disgust. Wally started laughing.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Because I can't believe you tasted it! Ha!"

"B-But you asked me to!"

He looked at her. "C'mon, that was funny. Don't deny it."

She smiled. "I guess it was a little funny," she said, giggling a little bit. Then they started laughing together.

Of course, the popular people could hear them, including Brooke. "Sheesh," Brooke said, staring at them. "She has one friend and suddenly she thinks she's on top of the world. Somebody oughta put her in her place."

"Yeah," Todd said. "Wally must be an idiot to be friends with a girl like her."

"Yeah, totally!" Delilah chirped.

"I'm guessin' you're gonna come up with some sort of plan to torture her?" Connor asked Brooke. Her eyes slit and smiled evilly.

"Oh, yes…" she replied. "Of course I will. That girl needs to know just how completely dumb and worthless she is. And we'll be the ones to tell her." Ideas started forming in her head.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright, time to go to work!" Wally said, walking next to Kuki on the sidewalk. "Hopefully this'll work out better than my last job…." he said.

"What other job did you have?" Kuki asked.

"I worked at an amusement park," he answered.

"That sounds like fun…Why didn't it work out?"

"Because I didn't wanna be workin', I wanted to be the one ridin' em'!" he said. "It's way too hard to resist going on a roller coaster when you're sellin' chips and soda instead. I kept leavin' the stand to ride it, and that didn't make the boss too happy…"

Kuki laughed. "Well, at least there aren't any roller coasters near Umberto's."

"There should be. Roller coasters are awesome."

The conversation ended, and they just walked together in comfortable silence. Wally glanced at Kuki after a while, and she was frowning, and twiddling her fingers.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked her.

"Oh, n-nothing."

"You're lyin'."

\

"N-N-No I'm not….."

"Yes you are, you're all tense. What's wrong? You worried about somethin'?"

She lowered her eyes to the ground. "I-I'm just a little nervous about work."

"What's there to be nervous about? We walk in, listen to the boss man and do whatever the crud he wants us to do."

"But what if I'm no good? What if I get fired? Or, or do something wrong, like putting Umberto's on fire?"

Wally had to laugh at that. "Set the place on fire? I don't think you're stupid, Kuki. You won't do that. You'll be fine. I'm a slacker, and I think I'll do ok. Don't worry about it. We're in on this together, right? Right. So, stop worrying, or I'll……."

"Or w-what?" _Will you stop being my friend?_ This made her even more nervous.

"I'll, I dunno, steal your shoes or somethin'. You'll have to go to school in just socks. You don't even have to wear socks! You can go barefoot. And it'll be because I stole all your shoes. Ha ha ha. So stop worryin', or your feet will be sorry."

She smiled, and could tell that he didn't mean it. It was funny. It was like he always knew what to say to make her feel better. Usually people just said things to make her feel even worse. But Wally was different. He had always been different, from the moment he became her friend. He was the friend Kuki had always wished for.

Sometimes, he just made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"Thanks Wally," she said, smiling. "I feel better."

"Good! Now I won't have to steal your shoes. Hey, we're here."

They had finally come to Umberto's. Kuki took a deep breath. _I can do this. If Wally says I can, then I can. He'll help me._

"Well well well, my new employees have arrived! Hello, Kuki! Hello Paulie!" said Mr. Melloni, welcoming them.

"It's Wally," he corrected him. Paulie? Sheesh.

"Wally! Whatever. Paulie, Wally, what's the difference? Anyway, welcome to your first day of work. Here, put these on," he said, tossing them shirts. They were green, with the Umberto's logo on it. "Go put these on, and then I will show you….Ah, what is it you Americans say? 'Show you the ropes.' Yes, that's it. I will show you the ropes. Although I have no ropes here. You Americans say the oddest things…"

By this time Kuki and Wally had the shirts over their clothing. "Now what?" Wally asked.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Mr. Melloni said, taking a step back. "Let me take a look at you. Yes, yes, the shirts fit you fine. Okay then. Come with me and I'll show you what I want you to do." He took them to the back and handed them a notepad and pens.

"The first thing I have you do is being a waiter and waitress. Is easy. Just go around and ask people what they want. Then you put the order in kitchen, the cook makes it, then gives you the food, and you bring it to them. Fill up any empty drinks, and make sure you know what they were drinking. Be nice and polite, and charming. Yes, be very very charming. When they are done, ask them if they want dessert. If they do just write it down and do what you did the first time. You understand now?"

They nodded yes. Kuki gulped. She was still a little nervous. _I'll probably drop something….._

On the other hand, Wally wasn't really paying attention. _How's this Melloni guy get his mustache to curl like that? Is there such a thing as mustache gel, or what? Nobody in Australia has mustaches like that…_

Mr. Melloni also went over what things they should say, and some other tips to help them do the job. Once he was finished he was eager to get them on the job.

"So go and be the little charmers that you are and do the job," Mr. Melloni said, pushing them out the kitchen door. "I know you can do it."

Wally walked over to a family of four first.

"Hello, m' name is Wally, and I'll be your waiter," he said, "What do ya wanna drink? We got….all sorts of stuff to drink. So, uh, take your pick, I guess."

Kuki walked to a young couple, feeling shaky. She just had the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

"H-H-Hello," she said, gripping hard on the notepad and pen. "I'm K-Kuki, and I'll b-be y-your w-waitress today. "W-Would y-you like s-something to d-drink?"

The couple told her what they wanted and she sped off to the soda machine. Wally was already there, filling glasses with a soda.

"This job is so easy!" he exclaimed. "I can't believe I'm gonna get paid for this! What do you think, Kuki?"

"Y-Yeah, it's a g-good j-j-job…." She was still shaky.

"Kuki?" Wally asked, looking at her quivering. "Why are you so nervous? It'll be okay. Just calm down. Take a deep breath."

She did, very slowly.

Wally put his hands on her shoulders. "Nothin' bad is gonna happen, Kuki. You can do this. Just be yourself. Be like…..Be like the way you were at the arcade. You were totally being yourself there. You were all relaxed and stuff. Just do that. Hey, you can pretend like this is a videogame. The more people you serve, the more points you get. Can you do that?"

Yes, yes, she could do that. _Just pretend it's a videogame…._Her body started to relax and her breathing became more regular.

"I feel much better. You're smart, Wally. I think I can do it now…I think pretending it's a videogame will help me a lot."

"Good."

His hands were still on her shoulders. They stayed there for a while, and they were just looking at each other. The dreams had suddenly popped into their heads, and they started to blush. Wally quickly took his hands off her, and looked away so she couldn't see him blushing. She was blushing just as badly as he was, and did the exact same thing.

"Well……Guess we should get goin' then…" Wally said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Y-Yeah, let's go…."

The rest of the shift was fine. Kuki was finally relaxed, and Wally…Well, he was fine at the beginning so he just kept at it, although Mr. Melloni did point out to Wally that he should try to sound a little more professional.

Mr. Melloni thought they were doing a great job. But he had some things going on in his head that had nothing to do with his restaurant.

_They are growing closer, I can tell…._He thought, leaning against the wall, watching them. _They have no idea just how close they are to falling in love with each other. The way they are doing everything together…._

At this point Wally had grabbed a chance at talking to Kuki. He said something to her and made her laugh a bit. Mr. Melloni smiled. _It will only be a matter of time. They were made for each other. Perhaps I can do something to speed up the process………_

Their shift ended at six, and they both went to Mr. Melloni afterwards. "So, how'd we do?" Wally asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Very wonderful! I am so happy to have you two as my employees. Now, today was your first day, but I was thinking that you two should only work on weekends. Friday through Sunday. Is that good for you two?"

They looked at each other, then looked at him and nodded yes.

"Very good!" he exclaimed. "However, I would like for you to come her tomorrow so I can show you one more thing. Can you do that?"

"I can," Wally said.

"Me too," Kuki added.

"Wonderful! Come at nine o' clock in the evening."

"Nine? That late?" Wally asked.

"Yes. You can come, right?"

"Well, yeah, but….Well, okay," he said. "Can you come that late, Kuki?" Wally asked her.

"Yeah, I can."

"Well then, see you tomorrow!" he said. "You can go now."

They left, and Mr. Melloni smiled.

_Tomorrow shall be very interesting, indeed._

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"I wonder why he wants us there tomorrow so late," Wally asked Kuki, kicking a rock on the sidewalk around. "I mean, doesn't that seem a little weird to you?"

"Yeah," Kuki replied. "I didn't even know that Umberto's was open that late. But, we'll both be there, right?" She looked up at him.

He smiled at her. "Right."

Kuki stopped. "Wally……" she said, looking at him.

Realizing she stopped, he stopped. "Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"Thank you? For what?"

"Calming me down. Making me feel better. A lot of people don't do that…I'm glad I have a friend like you. You're…." She started blushing. "You're the best."

Now it was his turn to blush. "Oh, well, heh heh…." He rubbed the back of his head like he usually did when he was blushing. "Thanks. I'm glad to have you as a friend too….You know, you're the first friend I ever had that was…..y'know, a girl."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah….I used to think girls were all the same. I thought all they cared about were makeup and chick flicks and the latest soap opera on TV. I thought all of them were materialistic and always thinking about themselves before anyone else. But you…." He took a step towards her. "You're different. You don't care about that stuff as much as most girls do. You always think of others before yourself. You're so nice. And you like cool things too, like videogames, and drawing. You're…You're nothing like I thought girls were. You're…..You're awesome." He blushed again.

Kuki was touched. "Thank you….." she said, looking at the ground. "I…….." Tears started going down her cheeks.

Wally panicked. "You're crying! Oh crud, did I say something wrong? I didn't mean to make you cry! Oh crud……"

She smiled. "I'm not crying because I'm sad, Wally."

"You're….You're not?"

"I'm not. I'm crying because…..You make me happy, Wally….You just…..I know we haven't known each other for a really long time but……I…..I've never had a best friend before, and you…..You're my best friend."

Something pulled at Wally's heartstrings, and he said nothing. He felt all weird, and so did Kuki. They both felt……

Warm and fuzzy inside.

"You're my best friend too, Kuki……" He said in a low voice.

"I-I am."

"Yeah, you are."

"But….Don't you have friends in Australia?"

"Yeah, but I have more than just one best friend. Before I moved here I had two best friends. Now I have three. And Kuki, one day you're gonna have more than just one best friend too, 'cause you're too good of a person to have just one friend."

"You…You really think so?"

"I know so."

_Wally….. …You're perfect……_

She smiled, and Wally took a good look at her smiling. It was a different smile. It wasn't one of the smiles she usually had. This smile was big, and it took up her whole face. She was practically glowing.

_She's beaming, _he thought. _She looks…..beautiful….._

He shook his head. What did he just think? _You just called her beautiful! _he screamed in his head. _What the crud? What are you thinking man? _

He couldn't deny it though. _She really is pretty…….and smart. And kind. And fun to be with….._

_Wally…….._Kuki thought. _You're so……..so…….There's not even a word to describe how wonderful you are…._She looked into his emerald eyes. _I just…..I'm so lucky to have you around……._

He looked right back.

"We should go," Wally said, suddenly looking the other way. "You know, don't wanna miss dinner and all…."

Kuki looked away too. "Y-Yeah, let's go."

Not another word was said on their way home.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**There you go! Sorry for the long wait! I've been so busy, and everything. I would just like to announce that the next chapter shall be mushy and Mr. Melloni will be speeding up the progress. Yay for Mr. Melloni!**

**The next chapter will hopefully not be such a long wait. I'll probably work on it soon. I hope you guys liked this chapter! More fluffiness is to come. Thanks again!**


	10. Realization

**This chapter is dedicated to Nigel's Leading Woman! YOU MUST READ HER FANFIC 'Close' OKAY? IT'S AWESOME!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KND or Umberto's. But I do own Mr. Melloni. Don't you just love Italians?**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 10:

Realization

Kuki was in the kitchen doing dishes, while keeping an eye out for the clock. It was almost eight thirty, and Wally was supposed to come by so they could go to work together. She had been looking forward to it. Working with Wally was a lot of fun.

Actually, doing _anything _with Wally was fun for her.

Mushi came in and didn't offer to help with the dishes. Kuki always did the dishes. To Mushi, the only thing Kuki did right was getting food for her and keeping the dishes clean.

"So, you have a job now?" she asked, leaning against the kitchen wall. "At the pizza place?"

Kuki turned to her and smiled. "Y-Yeah," she stuttered. "I'm working at Umberto's with Wally. It's really fun."

"And you haven't gotten fired yet?"

"N-No, why would you ask that?"

She smirked. "Because you don't do anything right. You'll mess it up somehow and get fired."

Kuki frowned. "B-B-But Wally s-said…."

"What's so great about this Wally?" Mushi interrupted. "How the heck did you get Wally to be your friend? Are you paying him or something?"

"N-N-No, he w-wanted to be my friend."

"Really?"

"Y-Yes."

Mushi laughed. "Well, I guess miracles _do _happen." She then walked away without another word.

_Why does Mushi have to hurt me like this? _she thought sadly. _I thought sisters were supposed to love each other and be friends. Why does Mushi hate me? Why does everyone else hate me? Why….?_

Before she could finish the thought, the doorbell rang.

_That's him! _thought Kuki, immediately perking up. She ran to the door, her jacket in tow, and answered it.

"Hey Kooks!" Wally said, his hands shoved in his pockets. "Ready to go?"

She nodded. "Yeah!"

As they left, Mushi was standing at the doorway, watching them.

_I guess she really __**does **__have a friend now…..And a cute one at that…..Who would've thought it? I guess that guy must really be insane or something…..Kuki with friends? Hah! He'll stop being friends with her soon enough….._

Little did she know that Wally and Kuki kept growing closer and closer as each day went by……

* * *

The sky was pure black, with stars shining all throughout the sky. Kuki thought it was absolutely beautiful, and enjoyed the walk she took with Wally.

"It's really pretty tonight," she said, almost in a whisper.

"Yeah, it's pretty good," said Wally, staring up at the sky himself. "Although, the view in Australia is ten times better than this."

"Really?"

"Yeah. _Everything _is better in Australia."

Kuki smiled. "With you saying that it makes me want to go there….You make it sound really great."

"Of _course _it's great! Does this country have a huge coral reef? I don't think so. Do Americans have really cool accents like we Australians? No. Did America come up with the boomerang? Nope, it was Australia. Australia Australia Australia. I could talk about this for ages."

"Yeah, it sounds really nice there….Are….Are the people there…nice?"

"Yeah. If you were born in Australia, you would've had a bunch of friends. My two best friends Chase and Matt would really like you. Of course, knowing them they would try to date you first."

She jumped. "Date me? Date me? Who…..They would wanna date me? Why would they wanna date me? Why would _anyone _want to date me? "

Wally put up his hands. "Whoa! Kuki, calm down! What's so bad about having guys wanna date you? Don't girls….y'know, like that kinda thing?"

"Yes, but…." She hugged herself, staring at the concrete sidewalk. "No guy will ever want to date me, Wally. I'm too…Stupid and useless. A piece of trash. An outsider. Nobody…….Nobody would ever want me…"

Before he could say anything, they had arrived at the restaurant, and Mr. Melloni was outside of it, calling them.

"Wally, Kuki! I am glad to see you! I was afraid you might not remember to come!"

Kuki smiled. "Of course we came! It's our job, right?"

Mr. Melloni smirked. _Yes, but there will be no work for you tonight….Heh heh heh….._

Wally wasn't listening. He was too busy thinking about what Kuki said earlier. _Why does she think she's useless and stupid? And that she's a piece of trash? She's nothing like that….She's……She's…….._

Before he could think anymore, Kuki and Wally were already in the restaurant.

And it didn't look anything like it was supposed to.

All the lights were turned off, the only source of light coming from the flames of candles all around the room. Soft music played in the background. There was nobody else inside. The only people there were Wally, Kuki, and Mr. Melloni.

"Uh……" Wally said. "Is this what the restaurant usually looks like at night? It's so dark….What's with all the candles? And why is that table the only one with food on it?" he asked, pointing to a nearby table with two plates of pasta on it.

Kuki immediately had a sense of what was going on.

"Mr. Melloni?" Kuki said, looking at him. "What's going on? Are you….um…." She didn't want to say it out loud.

The portly Italian chef smiled. "Why, nothing is going on! What gives you that idea? I just want you to try my new dish, that's all."

She didn't believe him. "But..Isn't this kind of…." She blushed. "romantic?"

Wally's eyes got big. "What?" he said, realizing what Kuki meant. "Romantic? Mr. Melloni, are you……We're not….you know….in love or anything! We're just friends! What are you doin' to us, man?" He felt like running out of there, but his feet remained glued to the floor.

"I am doing nothing!" Mr. Melloni protested. "Nothing at all! I just want you to try this new dish! That is all! So come! Come eat!"

Since he _was _their boss, they had to do it. So they sat at the table, staring at the pasta, trying to avoid each other's gaze.

"Well, I am going to the kitchen. It needs some cleaning up, and……"

"We'll help you do that!" Wally volunteered.

Mr. Melloni frowned. "No! No cleaning anything for you two! Sit there and eat my dish, and have a good time. I'll just be in the back. I see you later." And with that he walked away.

Wally banged his head against the table. "That Melloni guy tricked us! I can't believe it! This isn't work! This is a scheme! I can't believe this……." He was blushing furiously.

Kuki was also blushing just as bad as him. "I'm really really sorry about this!" she said. "I….I didn't know he would do this! I mean, I've always known Mr. Melloni has a romantic side, but I never thought he would do anything like this! I'm so sorry!"

"Ugh…" Wally muttered. "Well, we're here, we might as well make the best of it and eat."

"Y-Yeah…"

Kuki took her fork and ate a bite of the pasta. "Hey….." she said, swallowing her food. "This is pretty good…"

Wally took his first bite. "Hey," he said. "You're right. It's pretty good."

Silence.

"Well, this is akward," he said, putting the fork done. "I gotta admit, I've never been tricked into having a date before. Not that I think this is a date. No no no, not a date. This is not a date. Nope. No, no, no. Not a date."

Kuki couldn't help but let out a little laugh at his discomfort, even though it was torturing her just as much as him. "I'm really sorry he did this. He meant well."

"Yeah, well, whatever. It's still awkward."

"Y-Yeah…."

More silence.

"So, um…." Kuki muttered after a few minutes. "Do you miss Australia? And your friends?"

"Yeah, I do," he answered after taking another bite of pasta. "Especially since everyone at the school here are idiots. I still can't believe that they hurt you so much. You're the only decent human being I've met here."

"Yeah….They're really mean….But….At least I have you now." She blushed. "I like having friends."

He smiled. "Yeah, me too…And even though I don't remember anything before my thirteenth birthday, I still feel like bein' a kid was a lot better than this."

"That's what I think too….Do you….Do you like kids Wally?"

"Are you kiddin'? I love em'. Most teenagers hate em', but I think they're great!"

"Really? Me too!" Kuki said, looking really happy. "I thought I was the only one who liked them!"

"Well, I guess you're not." They both smiled. "We have a lot of things in common, don't we?" he said.

"Yeah, we really do!"

Wally kept smiling. _She gets excited so easily! _he thought. _I like it when she's happy. She should be happy more often. I wonder if I could do anything to help……?_

Then he remembered what Kuki said before they came.

_No guy will ever want to date me, Wally. I'm too…Stupid and useless. A piece of trash. An outsider. Nobody…….Nobody would ever want me…_

"Kuki?"

"Yeah?"

"I just want you to know that you're not stupid and useless. You're not a piece of trash, or an outsider. You're not. You're better than that." He blushed saying it. Why did being around Kuki make him so _nice?_

"And….I think there are a lot of guys who would want to date you."

She frowned. "No there aren't. I just know it…"

"Kuki, _come on! _Give yourself a little credit! You're not who everybody says you are! You're what _I _say you are! And do you know what I think of you?"

She got nervous. "What?" she asked, her voice squeaky.

"I think you're a great person! You're smart, you're fun to be with, you've got a heart of gold, and you're pretty! _That's _what I think of you! And one day, you're gonna find a guy that's just about crazy over you. I know it! And I'm always right, so don't question it."

She just stared at him. He stared right back.

"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me….." she said, her voice low. "Thank you……."

He smiled. "You're welcome. Now, lets eat the rest of this, huh? Can't let it get cold!"

She smiled back. "Yeah."

* * *

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," said Wally, standing outside of Kuki's house.

"Yeah…." Kuki said, feeling a little sad. She didn't want him to leave.

The moon sat right over Wally, it's light hitting him.

_He's perfect……_

"Well, then…." he said, rubbing his head. "I guess I should go now, huh?"

_You don't have to leave….._

"Yeah…I guess…."

"Why do you look so sad?" he asked, looking at her. "You look sad all of a sudden. Is something wrong?"

_He's so caring!_

"No, I'm okay," she said, giving him a smile. "I had fun with you."

He smiled back. "Me too. I mean, it was weird, due to the setting and all, but yeah. I had fun."

_I've never met anyone like you._

"Well, then, bye Kuki!" he said, starting to walk the other way. "See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!" she said back, waving. She watched him walk away until she couldn't see him anymore.

_I'm looking forward to tomorrow…._

She went inside her house, went up the stairs, and got ready for bed. After brushing her teeth and putting on her pajamas, she flopped on her bed, smiling. She got the pictures from the photo booth again and stared at it.

_Wally is so great, _she thought, staring at his face. Just the thought of being with him made her happy. _He's so tough, but so kind at the same time. I love to be with him….He's so wonderful….._

She couldn't stop thinking about him. His face, his personality, his eyes, his jokes, his talents, his smile, his hair…..All of these things were in her mind.

She fell asleep smiling, the picture still in her hand.

And she dreamt about him.

* * *

"I'm home!" Wally shouted, walking through the doorway of his house. "I'm back from work!"

_If you would call it work…._

"Hello my little marsupial!" Mrs. Beetles greeted, mixing up something in a bowl with a spoon. "How was work?"

"Uh….." _I'm not gonna tell her what really happened. _"It was good, good….Very good…"

"Well that's great! You know, I think it was a great decision for you to get a job! You can meet new friends that way! But of course, I'll bet you've already made a bunch of friends from school, huh?"

"Hah!" Wally laughed. "I only have one friend, cuz she's the only decent human being at that school!"

Mrs. Beetles smiled. "A SHE, you say? As in, a GIRL?"

He held his head back. "Yes, mother, a girl. Don't get any ideas."

"Ideas? What kind of ideas? I don't know what you're talking about!"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

She rolled her eyes. _Boys…._You could never get them to open up to anything.

"What's her name?" she asked, trying to get more out of her son.

"Kuki. Kuki Sanban."

"Kuki Sanban?"

"She's Japanese."

"Oh! Does she know English?"

Wally sighed again. "Yes, mom. She was born in Japan, but she moved here before she could talk. She's a legit American."

"Is she pretty?"

This time he slapped his hand on his head. "Mom!" he said in exasperation. "Don't ask me that!"

"Well, is she?"

He gave in. There was no way he could escape his mother now.

He could tell her she's ugly. He could tell her that he wasn't into her. He could tell her she's just average pretty-wise.

But he told her the truth. "Yes, she's pretty."

"Oh really?" Mrs. Beetles stopped mixing whatever she was making and sat in the living room couch, signaling Wally to sit next to her. He obeyed.

"Tell me about her," she asked. She had to make sure the girl wasn't a bad influence or something.

"Well…" Wally had to think about it. _Where should I start?_

"She's kind."

"Uh-huh."

"She's really fun to be around once you get to know her."

"Uh-huh."

"She's smart."

"Uh-huh."

"I really like her. She's….different from everyone else." He blushed a little, something that his mom definitely noticed.

"And…..everybody at school hates her for no good reason!"

Mrs. Beetles jumped at that. "What do you mean?"

Wally started to feel angry at everyone at the school. "What I mean is that everybody at that school tortures Kuki! They call her names, they humiliate her, they trick her, and do just about everything to make her miserable! I hate them! Kuki is one of the nicest, coolest girls I've ever met! They're all just mean to her because of this stupid girl named Brooke! She's supposedly the most beautiful and popular girl there, and since she doesn't like Kuki, then nobody likes her! I'm the only one that was willing to get to know her, and I'm glad I did! She's really cool once you get to know her! The problem is that Kuki has absolutely no self-confidence at all, and she just gets miserable! I hate seeing her sad, and she's sad almost all the time! The people at school destroyed her, mom! And she doesn't deserve it!"

His heart was racing during his little speech. Memories of Kuki flooded through his brain. Kuki smiling, Kuki laughing, Kuki crying, Kuki nervous….Pictures of her entered his mind.

Mrs. Beetles had her hand covering her mouth. "Oh my!" she gasped. "That's…..That's just _terrible! _Why would they do something like that?"

"Because they're all idiotic morons, that's why!"

"But….You don't think of Kuki the way they do?"

"Heck no! She's the exact opposite of what I thought girls were like."

"What do you think girls are like?"

"Well, before I met Kuki, I thought girls were materialistic, fake, and selfish. But Kuki isn't like that. She's got a heart of gold. She's nice to everybody no matter what that person does to her. She thinks of everybody else before she thinks about herself. She's a pro at drawing and playing videogames. When she's happy she's great to have around. She's…..She's……"

"Wonderful?"

"…..Yeah."

Mrs. Beetles slowly got up, and looked at Wally. "Son," she said, patting his head. "I think your feelings for this Kuki are a little stronger than you think."

Wally stood up. "What? No way! I don't like her like that!"

"Son, I just listened to everything you said, and from my viewpoint, it looks like you _do_ like her like that."

"But….But….She's just a friend! A best friend! That's all she is!"

Mrs. Beetles walked away from him, heading back towards the kitchen. But before she left, she turned and said "Just think about it Wally. Think about it really hard. You just might realize something once you do." And with that she left.

Wally headed up the stairs, protesting his mother's statement in his mind. _There's no way I could like Kuki like that! _he thought. _I'm Wallabee Beetles! I don't fall in love with girls! Especially not with girls I'm friends with! There's no way…..I could never fall in love with her. I mean, I really like her, but love? Sure, I want to punch anybody that's mean to her, but that's just because she's my friend._

He walked into his room, and his eyes landed on the pictures from the photo booth. He picked them up and took a good, long look at Kuki.

His heart started beating faster than before.

_Kuki…._

She was so happy in those pictures. There was no sadness in her eyes, just pure happiness. She was totally herself in those pictures.

_She's nothing like what I expected her to be……_he thought. _She's different from other girls. She's……_

His heart started beating even faster, and Wally couldn't keep his eyes off her.

_Oh crud._

* * *

Kuki was having some trouble on her way to class. It seemed as if she got in everyone's way in the hallway.

"Move it, Sanban!"

"Ohmygosh, get out of the way!"

Um, excuse me, but you're in my way, you idiot!"

"Go away!"

She kept being pushed out of everyone's way, and it eventually caused her to run into a guy.

"Hey, watch where you're goin', you whore!" He pushed her into the lockers, her head banging into one and falling to the floor.

"HEY!"

Wally marched up to the guy and grabbed a hold of his collar. "Did you just call Kuki a whore and push her?"

The guy slit his eyes and smirked. "Yeah, so what?"

"So what? SO WHAT? Why I oughta kick your butt all the way to next Tuesday! Leave her alone! Or else……." He smiled evilly. "And you don't want to mess with me….."

He gulped. "Um…Well…Uh…."

"Oh, you gettin' nervous? Good."

"Listen, I didn't mean to cause any trouble…."

"Really? Because I think you did."

"Well, I won't do it again. Promise!"

"We'll see about that." He let go of his collar and watched him take off like a bullet. Then he turned to Kuki and offered her his hand. She accepted it, and got up.

"Wally….." She was speechless. No one has _ever _done that before.

"You okay?" He asked. "You hit that locker pretty hard."

"N-No, I'm fine…" Her heart was beating furiously. "Thank you……"

Wally blushed. "It was nothing," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "Just let me know if someone ever does that to you again, okay?" His heart was beating just as fast as hers.

"O-Okay…."

"I'll….." He looked at her, blushing even more. "I'll catch ya later, then."

"O-Okay…."

She watched him make his way into class.

Her back was against the lockers, and she sunk down back to the floor, her hand on her heart.

_Wally…….I…..I think I…..I think….._

_I think I love you………._

She couldn't stop thinking about him, and her heart had been beating fast whenever she saw him. It didn't take her long to figure it out. She knew about her feelings for Wally since yesterday night.

_I'm in love with my best friend……_

* * *

_I can't believe I have feelings for her! _he thought during math class. _Why? Why me? Why now? _He felt like a total wreck.

_Kuki, get outta my head! _He had been thinking about her all day.

_Why does she gotta be so great, huh? Why does she have to make my heart beat so fast? Why is she just so dang adorable?!?!?_

He started banging his head against his desk. The class and the teacher started staring at him.

"Um, Wally?" the teacher asked, looking concerned. "Are you okay?"

_NO! _

"Uh, yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm fine…Just a little, uh, you know….stressed, I guess. But I'll be okay."

"Well, if you insist. Just try to refrain from hitting your head against the desk, okay?"

He sighed. "Okay."

_How am I gonna talk to her? _he wondered, staring at the ceiling. _Who knows how I'm gonna act around her know that I know that I….love her? _He gulped.

It was going to be a long day.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kuki was in art class, pondering the same things Wally was. How was she going to be around him now? Would she stutter and be nervous? She was already doing those on a daily basis!

There was only one thing she was certain of. _He would never like me the way I like him, _she thought sadly. _He says all those nice things about me, but in the end we know it's not true. I don't deserve him. He deserves someone that's ten times better than me. It's pointless….Oh, why must I be in love with him? I'm so __**stupid! **__I'm already lucky enough to have him as a best friend. I'll never tell him how I really feel…Never. I don't want to ruin our friendship. I also think I wouldn't be able to handle the rejection….._She squeezed her eyes shut to keep from crying.

She was glad she was in art class. That class was good for handling emotions.

Mr. Marker, the art teacher, starting handing out large pieces of blank paper. "Alright guys," he said after handing it out. "Here's what I want you to do today. I want you to draw anything you want, but it's gotta be something from the heart," he said. "I want you to put as much emotion and thought into this drawing as you can. Just go wild. Try not to think of what you're going to do. Just start drawing and stop when you're finished. Show me what you can do."

He turned to Kuki. "And I'm sure you'll just come up with something wonderful, Miss Kuki?"

Her classmates scowled at her. They weren't half the artist Kuki was, and was without a doubt Mr. Marker's favorite student. Kuki did her best to ignore the scowling.

"I-I'll try my best," she said, smiling weakly.

She stared at her blank piece of paper. She stared at it, and stared at it until….

She picked up her pencil and just started drawing. She wasn't even thinking about what she was doing. It was like her hands were acting completely on her own. Her heart beat a mile a minute. She drew a face, a mouth, two eyes, hair…….

It took her the whole class to finish it. She put as much detail into it as she possibly could.

She dropped her pencil.

She looked at her drawing…..and gasped.

It was a head-to-toe drawing of Wally.

* * *

**Tell me what you think! I'm not sure what I think of this chapter, but hopefully you guys are! Please review! I'd really appreciate it! **


	11. Brooke's Plan

OMG I GOT SO MANY REVIEWS!!!!!! I'm on cloud nine! YYYYAAAAAAYYYY!

And guess what? You want the _really _good part soon? Just wait 'till chapter twelve. ;) *wink* Of course….chapter 12 would be the next chapter, so just wait 'till then. But if you want to read chapter twelve, you should read chapter 11! Which, ya know, would be this one….

Okay, I'll shut up now. Time for the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I do not own KND. What kinda person would write fan fictions of their own show? They'd be too busy makin' episodes! Preferably fluffy ¾ ones!

_**Finding Happiness**_

**Chapter 11**

**Brooke's Plan**

_I've got to hide this somewhere! _Kuki thought desperately, her picture of Wally in her arms. _Nobody can see this! Especially not Wally!_

She ran as fast as she could to her locker. The picture would be safe and sound there. Nobody would find out about it….And one day she would stay after school, wait until everyone leaves, and take the picture home.

She loved the picture she made of him. It looked exactly like him. Her heart beat faster just by looking at it.

But she would hide it under her bed and keep it from being seen.

_Almost there……_ She felt like she was on the run from the police or something. To her, the situation was almost as bad as that.

_No one will know……_

She was getting closer.

_Almost there, almost there….AH! _She ran into someone without realizing it, and they both fell to the ground.

"Oh my gosh, watch where you're…….Kuki?"

It was Brooke.

"B-B-Brooke! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

Brooke's eyes landed on the paper lying next to her. "What's that?" she asked, making a grab for it.

"D-Don't!"

She gave her a look. "You don't tell me what I can and cannot do. And I want to see what this is." She got up on her feet. Kuki did the same, waving her hands.

"P-Please don't….."

Brooke's eyes widened. _Oh my gosh….._she thought, grinning to herself.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Kuki's face froze. "W-W-What?"

"You love him! Oh my gosh, this is so great!" She started laughing. "You love him! YOU! Oh my gosh, I can't believe this!"

"I-I-I don 't love him!" she protested, her face turning into a tomato.

"Oh really?" she said, walking closer to her to make Kuki nervous. "Then why would you draw a picture of him, hmm?"

"Uh….Uh….."

"I'm right, and you know it."

Kuki kept her mouth shut.

"Well, who knew Gallagher High's most hated outcast would fall in love?" she said. "Of course you would fall for the first guy who's stupid enough to be nice to you."

Kuki stared at the ground, not wanting to look up at her face. She was shaking, her heart beating a mile a minute.

"Well, don't worry, I won't tell." _I won't tell Wally, that is._

Kuki's head snapped up. "You….You won't?"

"No," she said, giving her back the picture. "It's none of my business. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go now."

She left without saying another word.

Brooke smiled wickedly. _This is perfect, _she thought evilly. _Of course she would fall for him. It was bound to happen…And now I have a scheme so good, it'll be the highlight of the year……_

A plan was forming in her little head.

And Kuki wouldn't see it coming.

* * *

_Maybe I don't have to see Kuki today, _Wally thought, nervously looking through the stuff in his locker. _I could just go home. I could do my homework. I could study for my history test. I don't need to see her. She doesn't need to see me. I could just leave, right now._

But he wanted to see her, and he knew it. It made him angry.

_C'mon Wally! Get a grip! You don't need some __**girl **__to make you happy! I'm fine without her! I don't need her! I was fine without her before, and I'm fine without her now! Who cares if I love her or not? I'm still the same. I don't need to see her. _

She saw her from a distance, walking towards him, and his heart leapt.

_Crud, crud, CRUD! Stop it!_

"Kuki! Hey! Whassup?" Wally said a little too loudly, leaning against the locker. "I didn't expect to see you here!"

Kuki had a confused look on her face. "What do you mean, Wally? We go to school here."

_Idiot. _

"Well, yeah, but I didn't expect to see you in here! I expected to see you outside, under the tree, like we always do! Yeah, that's what I meant! I didn't know you'd….Y'know, actually _come _to my locker. Yeah…That's what I meant."

"Oh! Do…Do you want me to leave? I will, if you want me to." she said with a look of panic, hoping Wally wasn't displeased with her.

"No no no! That's not what I meant! Ha ha, you worry too much!" he said, patting Kuki's head, even more nervous then he had been before. "But that's just you, I guess. Kuki the worrier. Always worrying, ha ha, that's Kuki alright. Yup. Ha." He faked a grin.

"Well, I don't mean to worry, I just do…."

_Oh crud, did I just insult her?_

"And there is nothing wrong with that!" he said, his hand on her shoulder now. "In fact, I should worry sometimes, 'cause worrying is helpful! Like, I should be worrying about my history test! Yeah! Gotta study for that, you know!"

_Real smooth, Beetles._

"Oh yeah, our history test," Kuki said, remembering. "Do you….Do you want to study for it together? We could go to the hangout." She started to blush, as if she were asking him out on a date or something.

"That…….." He looked at her. She looked so cute, standing there with her arms wrapped around her books, blushing. He started to relax.

"That'd be great, Kuki. Let's go."

* * *

Kuki laid out a blanket for them to sit on, hoping that'd be better than sitting on the cold wooden floor of the hangout. She felt a little embarrassed that there was nothing for them to sit on.

"I'm sorry, but that's the best I can do…" she told him, staring at her shoes. "Since they ruined the furniture, and….."

He smiled. "That's okay. The floor is fine." He sat down and took out his books. "The test is on the French Revolution, right?"

"Yeah." She got her stuff out and they started to study.

Wally only lasted for about two minutes before his mind started to drift. His eyes slowly landed on Kuki, who was intently reading the notes in her binder.

_Her hair is so black, _he thought, looking at a strand that fell across her face. _It's not like that really dark brown most people have, it's pure black……_

Kuki felt him staring at her. "W-Wally?" she stuttered, embarrassed from being looked at so intently. "Um, are you okay?"

_Crud, she caught me lookin' at her._

"Huh? Oh, yeah….." He blushed. "I just, uh, couldn't help but notice there was something in your hair."

"There is?"

"Y-Yeah…" He plucked an imaginary piece of dust off her hair. "There we go, all gone."

"Oh, thanks…"

"No problem…" He tried to look over his notes again, still blushing. Kuki was still looking at him.

_I really like this….._ Kuki thought, smiling to herself. _It's like just being around him makes me happy. I wish I could be around him all the time. Although, that would probably bug him, but still…I'm happy…_

It felt good to think that, that she was happy. That didn't happen to her often.

But then again, Wally had been making her happy from the start.

It was Wally's turn to catch her staring. She was smiling the moment he looked at her, so instead of saying anything, he just smiled back. Kuki blushed.

_Stop staring, Kuki…You have to study! _She looked back at her notes.

Wally couldn't take it after a while. He hated studying. He just didn't want to do it. "Ugh," he muttered, frowning. "I hate history."

Kuki let out a small laugh. "It's not the best subject, is it?" she said. "I prefer English or Art."

"I prefer the English Art of Videogaming," Wally countered, sighing. "Where's the class for that?"

She laughed again.

Wally chuckled along with her. He was having fun with her. She was so sweet and kind, she just always made him smile. Her laugh made him feel warm inside, and he felt as if he could hear that laugh forever. She was everything he wasn't, and he liked that. It made him feel, well, complete.

_I really **am **in love with her, _he thought. And for once, he didn't mind. She deserved to be loved. She deserved to be loved by everyone she met, in his opinion. Unfortunately, no one else had that same opinion. But he was willing to love her. He wanted to love her. He did love her.

It was something he really didn't understand, something he wasn't sure about. He had never been in love before, and it was all new to him. But looking at her, he knew he would understand someday. He just needed a little bit of time.

"Kuki," he said, scooting a little closer to her. "Do you think you can help me with these notes? It's all confusin' to me." He wanted to be closer to her, and he really needed the help with the notes. He hated studying, but doing it with her would make it better.

"I would love to help you," she said, taking his binder. "That's....That's what friends do, right?"

He smiled, but he wished they were more. And Kuki did the exact same thing. She loved him as much as he loved her, that much was true. They just didn't know it yet.

"Right, Kooks. That's right."

_

* * *

_

"You won't believe what I just found out," Brooke said, sitting next to Todd at a table outside a local coffee shop. "It'll blow your mind."

"Yeah, why was it so urgent?" Connor asked, sitting across from them. "Is the news really that good?"

"_Of course _it's that good," Delilah chirped, looking at Connor like he was an idiot. "If Brooke says it is, then it obviously is."

He just rolled his eyes and looked back at Brooke. He used to have a crush on Delilah, but she changed after she met Brooke, and now she was just annoying.

Jared sighed. "Can we just get on with it?"

"Thank you, Jared," Brooke said, glad the attention was back on her. "Anyways, as for my news: Kuki has a crush on Wally."

"YES!" Todd exclaimed, slamming his hand against the table in victory. "Jared, you owe me ten bucks, man!"

"Crap," he said, getting out his wallet and giving him the money. "Why couldn't they have waited two more months?"

"Wait, you guys knew about this?" Brooke asked, a confused look on her face.

"Of course," Todd said, smiling. "C'mon, you didn't see it coming? It was bound to happen. Of course she would fall for the first guy to be nice to her. We saw it comin' a mile away."

"And they should've waited for two more months and I'd have won!" Jared complained.

"Do you think he likes her back?" Delilah asked.

First it was silent, and then everyone but Brooke started laughing.

"Don't be ridiculous, D!" Brooke said through her laughter. "I mean, this is Kuki we're talking about!"

"Yeah! I wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole!" Todd added, laughing harder.

"Who'd want to even _talk _to her, much less touch her!" Jared said.

"Well, it's possible," Delilah said, her voice low. "I mean, he is friends with her."

Connor softened up and put his hand on her shoulder. Maybe he liked her a little bit. "Sure," he said, smiling. "Maybe you're right."

"Oh please…" Brooke crossed her arms. "No one likes Kuki. She's a nobody, and that's what she'll always be. Wally probably just lost a bet or something….Anyway, I have a plan."

The others were suddenly quiet. Brooke's plans were always priceless.

"I'm going to have a party on Friday night, and my parents won't be home….And we don't have school that day." That day was a teacher workday.

"Ooh, a party?" Delilah said. "I love your parties! They're so much fun!"

"I know right? Well, this is what's gonna make it even more fun: I'm going to invite Kuki."

Silence again.

"What?" Todd said, looking at Brooke like she was a crazy person. "What do you mean, invite Kuki? Why in the world would you invite her?!?!? You just said yourself she was a nobody!"

"I _know _what I said, Todd. Let me finish. Connor, you're going to need to forge a note for me."

Connor had a known gift for forging notes. He could make his handwriting look like anybody's writing. All he needed was a sample of the person's handwriting, and he could make it look as if the writing came from the same person. People always came to him when they forgot to have their parents sign for them to let them go on a field trip or something.

"Um, okay, why?" he asked, a confused look on his face.

"Because," she continued, smiling, "Kuki isn't just going to go because we invite her. She'll be too shy. She'll need a reason to go. I want you to write a note in Wally's handwriting, saying that he's going to my party and he hopes she can make it because he wants to spend some _alone _time with her. That'll make her go."

"Okay, so you've got a plan to get her to the party," Todd said. "So why do we want her at the party?"

She smirked. "That's where the fun comes in. We're totally gonna wreck her, guys. Wally isn't going to be there. I'm not inviting him. She'll be at my house. Stuck. With us. And tons of other people." Her face darkened. "Do you understand now?"

Soon all there faces were darkened, wicked smiles on their faces. "Oh, we understand, all right…." Todd said. "Let's do it."

"This'll finally let Kuki know exactly where she belongs," Jared said. "We'll mess her up good."

"Great idea, Brooke! I love it!" Delilah said.

"Yeah, let's really give it to her this time!" Connor said.

The plan was on.

* * *

The following Thursday:

"Man, I am totally gonna ace this test!" Wally said, walking next to Kuki. They had just finished lunch and were ready for their next class. "Thanks for helping me study for history, Kuki. It really helped."

Kuki looked like she was glowing. "I'm glad I could help," she said shyly. "I know you'll do great on it."

"You really think that?"

"Yeah."

He blushed at the compliment. "Thanks, Kooks. That means a lot."

She just smiled in response.

"Well, I guess I'll see ya later then. Wish me luck!" Wally left, waving goodbye. She waved back.

As she walked to her next class, she noticed a lot of the other students were looking at what looked like invitations.

_What's going on? _she wondered, looking around. _What's everybody getting so excited about?_

"Kuki!"

She cringed, hoping it wasn't who she thought it was. She turned her head, and found that she was right.

Brooke.

"B-B-Brooke, h-hey…." she said, staring at the floor. She was even more nervous around her then she usually was. Now not only did Brooke usually torture her on a day to day basis, but now she new Kuki's biggest secret.

"Hey girl, how are you doing?" she asked, giving her a huge, beautiful white smile. "I hope you've been well."

_Something isn't right….._

"Um, I'm f-fine, and y-you?" she asked her, wondering why Brooke was being so nice to her.

"Great! I just wanted to give you this," she said, handing her a piece of paper. Kuki looked at it. It said:

You have been invited to Brooke's house for an unbelievable, mind-blowing, totally decked-out party! There will be a pool, drinks, food, dancing, everything! Don't miss this once in a lifetime chance to get with your friends and totally rock out at this extravaganza! It's this Friday night, at 8 o' clock. Be there or be square.

Kuki's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she was holding. "Um, B-Brooke?" she said, looking at her. "A-Are you sure this is what you wanted to give to me?"

_I knew she would ask that! _Brooke thought to herself. _Now I gotta be convincing……_She put on a sad face. She pulled Kuki over to the side of the hallway to get out of everyone's way. "Kuki…." she said, her voice gentle. "Listen, I know we've all been hard on you ever since you started going to middle school. We've been beyond cruel to you. Am I right?"

Kuki just looked at her shoes, her eyes saying everything.

"Exactly. Well, we're done making fun of you, and decided that we want to get to know you. Maybe, even, you know, become friends? We feel terrible for making your life miserable, and we want to make it up to you."

Those were words Kuki thought would never hear Brooke say. She looked up at Brooke in surprise.

"W-What?" she stuttered, in utter surprise.

"We're sorry Kuki," she said, taking a step closer. "We've been jerks, and I know this is hard for you to believe, but you deserve a break. Come to the party. I promise you won't regret it."

She hugged her, and Kuki gasped in surprise. _What's happening? _she thought to herself, stiff as a board. _Is she….Are they…..Is this really happening to me? Am I finally…_ Brooke let go of her, and gave her a smile.

"Come to the party, Kuki. You won't regret it."

_Am I finally being accepted?_

In the back, Connor, Todd, Jared, and Delilah tried to keep from laughing.

* * *

"I got the letter all made up," said Connor during lunch, letting everyone see it. "All I had to do was look at his essay for English and I got it down. Good thing he had to go to the bathroom, or else I might've had to steal something or whatever."

"It looks great, Connor!" she said, giving him a brief hug. "It looks just like his blocky handwriting! When are you going to get it to her without Wally knowing?"

"I'm gonna stick it in her locker while everyone leaves."

"Great," she said. "Hopefully Wally will leave before she gets it. We have to make sure he doesn't see it. Keep a close eye on him after school, okay?" she told them. "We CANNOT have this plan ruined, got it?"

"Got it," they said in unison, nodding. Everything was going according to plan, and there was no way they were going to ruin it.

* * *

Kuki didn't tell Wally what happened to her that morning. She decided she wasn't going to go to the party. She wasn't sure if it would hurt Brooke's feelings or not, and she hoped it didn't, but she was way too shy to go. She wouldn't really know anyone there, not one person. She would be a total wreck there, and would have no idea what to do with herself. It would just end badly.

Besides, she couldn't believe herself what happened. Brooke, apologizing for what had been happening to her all those years? Saying that they had decided to treat her better, like a human being? Saying they wanted to be her _friend? _

She wanted to believe it so badly. She yearned for it. To be accepted, that would be the greatest thing to ever happen to her. For people to get to know her, to smile at her, to not call her names, it sounded wonderful. For people to stop making fun of her, to stop pranking her, to stop making her life miserable, it was like a dream come true.

If Brooke was telling the truth, then everything would get better. She would be Kuki the Outcast no longer. Everything would be different. Kuki's life would improve ten-fold. She would have Wally and more.

Kuki didn't want to think about what would happen if it were all a lie.

The only person with the power to change her mind was Wally, her wonderful Wally. She would do anything for him, would do anything he told her to. But she was certain if she told him he would tell her not to go. She thought she made the right choice.

Unfortunately, she would soon be tricked to believe that Wally indeed wanted her to go, and it would all be thanks to Brooke and the other popular teens.

She had no idea what was coming.

Wally had just left for home. He was ecstatic that day, saying how easy the history test was and how it was all thanks to Kuki that he did well on it. She blushed every time he said that. It made her feel so good, that she could make him that happy just by helping him with his studies. It was wonderful. He couldn't hang out with her that day, saying he was forced to help his mother with the housework. They didn't plan anything for that coming weekend.

They didn't have work on Friday. "No," Mr. Melloni had said to them when they had gotten their schedule. "I will not give you work on that Friday. You have no school that day, correct? You must have fun on that day. I will not ruin it for you. Come on Saturday." Mr. Melloni was like a dream come true.

After saying goodbye to Wally, Kuki went to her locker. She had some homework she had to take home. She was smiling. Wally had thanked her once again, telling her she was an awesome friend, and that he was glad he knew her. He had blushed the whole time saying it, but it put Kuki on Cloud 9.

It was a surprise to her when she found a piece of folded paper in her locker, her name on it. She recognized the blocky handwriting immediately.

_It's from Wally! _she thought eagerly, opening it. She couldn't help but wonder what it was he had to tell her.

It said:

_Dear Kuki,_

_I heard you got invited to Brooke's party. That's kinda weird, isn't it? I mean, I didn't expect to get invited to their party either, but sure enough, I have the invitation on my desk as I write this. I hate these kind of parties, especially with a bunch of preppy idiots throwing it, but I just wanted to tell you….I want you and I to go._

_I know, it's hard to believe, that I, Wally, would want to go to a party hosted by the Populars. But I want to meet you there Kuki. Kuki, go to that party. There's something I want to tell you there. I know it'll be hard for you, what with you being so shy and everything, but please go. What I want to say to you is urgent, and I'll be waiting for you by the pool, outside. Please come. I'm counting on you._

_Wally_

She believed every word of it, but questions swam through her head. Why did they invite him to the party? Why did they invite _her _to the party? Why did Wally want to meet her there? What did he need to tell her that was so urgent?

Despite all her questions, she made up her mind. She was going. Wally was going to be there, waiting for her. She had no idea what he wanted to say, but a part of her was excited. She knew there was no way he would ever have feelings for her, but a part of her wanted to desperately believe there was even the slightest chance of that happening. And that excitement was enough for her to go.

_I'll be there Wally, _she thought, excited. _I'll be there, I promise!_

_

* * *

**This chapter is definitely not as good as my other chapters, but I had to somehow get Kuki to go to the party without her sounding like an idiot, and I can't have Wally knowing that she's there. There's a certain way I want them to confess their feelings for each other, and I had to do this to get that to happen. I've had this scene in my head for months. Just bear with me guys. Chapter 12 is big. You gotta believe it. It's the chapter I've been waiting for, and I hope you guys like it. Just keep on waiting guys! **_


	12. The Party

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait….I've been really busy lately. Anyways, here it is. Chapter 12. The big one. Let's do it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KND, Mr. Warburton does, let's start the chapter already!**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 12

The Party

It was Friday night, 6:30 pm. Kuki could be seen looking through her closet, her drawers, everything. Clothes filled up the room, laying on the floor, on her bed, hanging on her desk chair, on the desk, everywhere. She flung articles of clothing into the air, looking through everything.

_Oh, I'm just no good at this….._She thought, a little panicked. _Don't most girls know what to wear on nights like this? I just have no idea what to wear! _

She usually wore her green sweaters and pairs of black pants, but tonight had to be special. Although she didn't know what Wally wanted to say to her, she felt as if she should dress up for once. But it was hard for her to choose something. She always relied on her sweaters and pants, and nothing else. Everything else felt like it was out of her comfort zone.

_Oh, this dress is cut so low…._she thought, gulping. She was holding up a blue dress her parents had gotten her for her birthday last year, and the neckline wasn't that low. But to her, it was low enough. She didn't think her body was good enough for showy clothes like that. She flung it away.

Soon she had been through everything in her closet, and she had no idea what to do. _What should I wear?!?! ? _she thought desperately. _A lot of these clothes would just make me look so…..ugly!_

She hung her head in defeat. _This is hopeless. I'm hopeless. I don't know what to do……_

Suddenly a little green sweater caught her eye. It wasn't one of the sweaters she wore everyday, oh no. This one had fancy sleeves that went to her elbow, with a V neck that she didn't think was too low. And next to it, a black skirt. It was nothing fancy, and it was a short skirt that went down to her knees, but it was fine. The outfit didn't go past her comfort zone, and it looked nice. She put it on, smiling.

She put on her favorite shoes, black ballet flats. She put a green headband just to add for style, and looked at herself in the mirror.

_I look…..nice…._she thought, looking at herself. She wouldn't call herself pretty, or beautiful, or gorgeous, but nice. She smiled.

She was ready for the party.

* * *

"Yo, Brooke! We're here to help you get ready for the party!" Todd said at the front door, along with Connor, Delilah, and Jared. "You ready for this?"

Brooke smiled, holding the door open and letting them all in. "Oh, I'm ready for this, all right. I'm so stoked. Did you bring the goods?"

"Oh we brought it, alright!" said Jared, bringing in some cases of beer. "There's more in the car! You got everything else?"

"Of course I did!" she said, hands on her hips. "I know how to throw a party! The pool's open, there's tons of food we need to get out, and the stereo system is all set. And now that we've got the beer, we're all set!"

"Well that's just great!" Delilah jumped in. "I'm so excited! I haven't partied, in like, _ever! _And your parties are always the best, Brooke!"

"And this one's gonna be even better," Brooke said. "Now that we've got Kuki coming."

Evil grins formed on their faces. "Oh yeah, she'll be real disappointed to find out her precious little Wally won't be here to protect her," said Todd.

"Yeah, we'll finally put her in her place," said Connor, bringing in more beer. "Especially since she doesn't know how crazy these parties of yours usually go, Brooke. It gets pretty insane."

She smirked. "Yeah, it'll be great. Now c'mon, let's get set up so we can get this party started. It's gonna be a long, crazy night!"

* * *

"Bye Mushi!" said Kuki, getting her jacket to go out. "There's some leftover Chinese in the fridge for you to eat, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah," Mushi said, waving it off. "Now, exactly, _where _are you going again?"

"To a party," she answered, smiling. "Can you believe it? I was actually invited to a party…"

"No, I can't," Mushi replied, sizing up Kuki, and taking in her outfit. "Exactly whose party?"

"Brooke's party."

Her eyes bulged up. "Brooke?" she said. "As in, Brooke Sanders? The most popular girl in your school?"

"You know about her?"

"Kuki, _everyone _knows about her! She wins, like, every beauty pageant there is and ends up in the newspaper! Are you kidding me, Kuki? YOU, a loser, got invited to BROOKE'S party, the girl who has it all?"

"I know it sounds crazy," Kuki said, her voice lowering and rubbing her arm. "I don't know how it happened either. But I'm meeting Wally there, so…….I'm going…."

Mushi rolled her eyes. Of course she knew about Kuki's infatuation with him. It had been obvious to her from the start. What wasn't obvious to her, however, was how her lame older sister managed to get invited to the biggest shindig in town.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later, Mushi. Goodbye!"

She left Mushi speechless.

She stepped out into the cold air, immediately rubbing herself with her arms. _It's so chilly out here! _she thought, looking out into the stars. _But it's so beautiful out……._

Brooke's house wasn't far from Kuki's, so she was just going to walk. Everyone knew where Brooke's house was; it was the biggest house in town. Brooke was also born into the richest family in town, so it wasn't a big surprise. Their house was big and white, with a huge heated pool in the backyard. You couldn't miss it.

She began walking and couldn't help but feel excited about the party. _I can't believe I got invited! _she thought. _I mean, I don't understand why, but maybe things really are changing! Maybe now that people have seen that people like Wally can be friends with me, then maybe they want to be friends too! I mean, it's possible, right?_

_And Wally! Wally will be there! We'll probably have a ton of fun! We'll hang out and talk, and maybe even dance a little….._She blushed at the thought. If Wally ever danced with her it would be the greatest moment of her entire life. It just made her want to get to the party even faster. She walked briskly now, getting more excited each second. She couldn't wait.

When she finally arrived she saw that a ton of people were already there. They were standing in Brooke's enormous front yard, drinking and laughing and just generally having a good time. Kuki scanned for a blonde bowl cut, but found none. _He must be inside, _she thought, walking forward. As she got closer to the house though, she felt nervous. She didn't know any of these people. They were all strangers to her. And just because Brooke was nice to her didn't mean everyone else would be nice to her. She gulped, but kept on walking.

The front yard was crowded, and she had to push herself through to get to the front door. "E-e-e-excuse me, pardon me…." she said, stuttering. She blushed, talking to these unfamiliar people. Some people got out of her way, but a lot just stared. The same thought went through their heads: What the hell was _she _doing here?

"Hey," said some bushy haired guy, blocking her way. "What're you doin' here, outcast? This isn't the place for you," he said.

"Oh, um, uh…." Kuki stammered, starting to shake. "I….I….I…"

"You gonna stand there or are you gonna leave, idiot?"

She turned around. _Wally will understand…._she thought, afraid of the guy. _I'll just tell him that….._

She felt a hand grab her wrist. At first she thought it was Wally, but when she turned around….

"B-B-Brooke?"

"Joe, leave her alone…." said the blonde beauty, looking agitated at him. "I invited her here, she's welcome."

Joe was speechless. "Oh, I um….S-Sorry, Brooke…." he said, trying to cover up for his mistake. "I just thought, you know, she looked out of place…"

"She belongs right here and that's where she'll stay. I'm sorry, Kuki, for Joe's rude behavior. Joe, apologize."

"Uh…"

"Apologize!"

"Ah, uh, Sorry there, out-…Heh heh, I meant Kuki……"

"Good!" Brooke said, smiling. Both Joe and Kuki were speechless.

"So, Kuki, I'm so glad you can make it! We're going to have so much fun…" she said, leading her towards the door. Kuki was so confused that she didn't even notice the hint of malice in Brooke's voice.

"Uh, yeah…..I'm….uh……." She was so flustered she didn't even know what to say. She looked around, and grew even more nervous. The house was brimming with people. There wasn't any open spaces, and the house was loud with music and loud voices. They were talking, dancing, eating, drinking….

_Wait, is that……Is that BEER? _At first she thought they were bottles of root beer, but she got a better look at the label.

_Oh my goodness, they're drinking BEER! These people….They could get drunk!_

Her anxiety grew worse. She had paid attention in health class, and knew exactly what drunk people tended to do, and wasn't something she wanted to be around. She had always vowed to never touch the stuff; but she was worried about them. What if someone got hurt? What if they started acting crazy and started to do stupid things? What exactly was going to happen? Were some people driving home?

"Hey, Kuki, do you want a drink?" Brooke asked, leading her to the counter in her kitchen, where drinks and food were laid out. "We've got all sorts of things……"

"No!" Kuki blurted without thinking. She blushed with her sudden outburst, then said, "Um, I mean, I'm not….I'm not thirsty….." She smiled weakly. "Th-Thank you, though.

_Dammit, _Brooke thought, displeased. _I was hoping we could get her drunk……I should've known she'd be too much of a goody-goody……_

Despite her disappointment, she smiled. "That's okay. Wanna go meet my friends?"

She was taken aback from all the kindness Brooke was giving her. _Am I dreaming or does she want me to meet her friends?_

"Uh….O-Okay……."

"Great! Let's go!" She took her arm again and led her through the crowds of people. "You're just going to _love _my friends," she said, guiding her through. "They so totally want to see you!"

The thing was Kuki already knew who her friends were. They often joined Brooke when she was picking on her. _Or, when she used to pick on me, _she thought, smiling. _I guess Brooke really does want to be friends after all. Maybe they're finally trying to get to know me….Wait until I tell Wally! _She scanned the room to see if he was there.

_Where is he, anyway?_

It seemed like they trekked through the living room forever until they finally made it to the door outside, where her friends were hanging out by the bar next to the pool.

"Brooke!" they all said, acknowledging her presence.

"Where have you been, Brooke? You were gone forever," Todd said, taking a swig of his drink.

"Well, guys, I wanted to see if Kuki got here, and look! She's right here!" She turned to her. "Kuki, you know Todd, Delilah, Connor, and Jared, right?"

Kuki nodded, blushing. She was so nervous, and becoming more and more shy by the minute.

"Hey, Kuki!"

"What's up, girl?"

"How ya doin'?"

"Good to see you!"

Kuki wasn't sure who said what, and smiled weakly, her stomach churning. "H-H-H-Hello…." she squeaked. "How….H-How are y-y-you?"

"Good!"

"Wonderful!"

"Just great!"

"Doin' fine!"

She couldn't believe it. They were being _nice _to her. _Her. _The outcast. The loser. She never thought it would ever happen, not in her wildest dreams.

"We're glad you could make it, Kuki!" Todd said, coming up to her. "We were afraid you weren't gonna come!"

"Y-Y-You were? W-Why?"

"'Cause we were hopin' we could have a fresh start," Connor said, joining them. "We've given you a lot of crap over the years, and we were wondering if maybe you could forgive us."

"Yeah, and we want to get to know you!" said Brooke. "I mean, we were totally wrong about you, Kuki. We should have never treated you the way we did. We think you're a totally great person."

"You…You do?"

"Yeah!" Delilah said. "A totally great person!"

Kuki felt like she could've fainted. "I……Wow…..Thank you…." A big smile went across her face. "Thank you so much. It really means a lot to hear you say that…"

Brooke grinned. _She's falling for it….._

Kuki really believed them. She believed every word. They seemed so sincere, so genuine. She thought that finally people were starting to recognize her as more than just some stupid loser.

"So, how do you like the party?" Todd asked Kuki. He nudged her. "Pretty great, huh?"

Actually, it was definitely a place where she didn't want to be. Not with all the people and beer around. She was still really shy. But she wasn't going to tell them, oh no. Not when they were being so nice to her.

And then she remembered something. "Oh!" she said, beginning to scan around the room. "Have you seen Wally?" she asked them. "He was supposed to meet me here, but I haven't seen him…."

Brooke acted like she was surprised. "Really? Isn't he like, your best friend?"

"Yeah. Have you seen him?"

"No, I haven't…." She said. "Tell you what. We'll split up and look for him. How about that?"

"That……That would be wonderful!" Kuki said. "I can't find him anywhere, and I don't know if I'll ever find him by myself!"

"Well, we'll help you then!" Todd said. "Tell you what. We'll look for him," he said, pointing at himself and the others, "And you stay here. We'll tell him you're waiting for him back here. Is that good?"

"Oh, well, I don't want to keep you guys from the party……."

"It's no big deal!" Connor said. "We'll be glad to help you! Come on guys, let's look. Kuki, you stay right here!"

"O-Okay."

And she did. She watched them go back inside and while she would wait for him. Her smile was huge.

_Oh, I can't wait for them to find Wally! _She thought, jumping up and down. _Wait until I tell him all that's happened! That is, until he tells me what he wants to tell me first…..Wally, come here soon!_

* * *

"Oh my gosh, that was so easy!" Jared said, laughing along with the others. "She actually believes all that fake crap! Ah, I can't stop laughing!"

"I know!" Brooke said, wiping a tear from her eye in laughter. "Isn't she just the dumbest girl? Oh, wait 'till we tell her Wally isn't even here!"

"When are we going to tell her, by the way?" Todd asked, trying not to laugh some more. "I mean, we're not going to pretend we're looking for him the whole night, are we?"

"Of course not! Let's give it ten minutes. We'll go to her, pretending to be all concerned that he isn't here, and then we'll pounce, alright?"

They agreed.

* * *

_They've been gone for a while, _Kuki thought, leaning against a tree. _I wonder if they've found Wally yet? I hope so……I really want to see him……Wait, there they are! _

Brooke and her friends came outside the door.

"Guys!" she said, perking up. "Did you find him? Where is he? Did you find Wally?" She looked behind all over, but found no trace of her favorite Australian.

She looked at them, and found that they had faces of sorrow. _Why do they look so sad? _She thought. _Did they find Wally?_

"Kuki, I'm sorry, we couldn't find him," Brooke said, her voice low. "All of us looked, we really did."

"He was nowhere to be found," Connor added.

"He's not in the living room, in the kitchen, in the hallway, outside, upstairs, nowhere……." Todd said.

"What…..But…….He….H-He said he was going to be here! He…He left me this note!" She pulled out the note and showed it to them. "See? He was supposed to meet me here! Are…A-Are you sure you couldn't find him?" Her mind was racing, wondering where he could be.

"May I see the note?" Brooke asked, reaching out for it. Kuki nodded, and gave her the note. She read it.

And then began to laugh.

"W-What's so funny?" Kuki asked, wondering exactly what was going on.

"You idiot," Brooke said, a shadow falling across her face. "You actually fell for it. We actually got you…."

"W-W-What are you talking about?"

"This note is fake. The whole thing is fake. We've been lying the whole time."

She gulped. "W-W-W…" She could barely talk. "W-What….?"

"Stop stuttering like a freakin' moron! We tricked you, Kuki! Your precious little Wally isn't here. We set the whole thing up." An evil smile grew on her face. "We just wanted to see you suffer."

Kuki started to back up. "He…He's not….?"

"Oh my gosh, you are the biggest idiot in the world!" Todd said, grabbed her head, and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Wally. Is. Not. Here. Understand already?" He pushed her to the ground, hard. She landed with an "Oomph!"

She sat up, her thoughts racing through her head.

_Wally's not here…He never was here…The note……_

"You….Y-Y-You guys…..wrote it?" Her voice was at a very high pitch.

"Yes. But does it matter anyway? What, were you hoping he wanted to tell you he loved you or something?" Brooke said, still smiling that evil smile.

"N-N-No! B-Brooke, p-please, just l-let me g-go h-home and….."

"Go home? Go home? You want to go home? You're not goin' anywhere, hon," she said, her friends backing her up. "We're not finished with you yet. And just to let you know…." She lowered herself to the ground, and went in Kuki's face. "That outfit makes you look like a whore."

Tears started forming out of Kuki's eyes. She was embarrassed, confused, ashamed, but most of all, terrified.

"Whore!" Brooke pushed her back onto the ground, and her friends joined in with the name calling.

"Idiot!"

"Loser!"

"Outcast!"

"Moron!"

Other people at the party soon saw what was going on, and either did nothing or joined in with the name calling.

"You're just a useless, filthy whore!" Brooke said, her voice angry. "You should just leave our school and never come back! In fact, maybe you should just _die!_"

"Yeah!"

"Right on!"

Kuki was now bawling on the ground. "Brooke, please!" she begged, getting on her knees. "Please, just let me go home!" She started to hiccup, her crying was so bad.

_They're right, they're all right…….._

"No! It's time you learned just exactly who you are! You think you can make one friend and suddenly be a whole new person? Please! You're the same as you've always been, Kuki! Nothing can change! You don't belong anywhere, and nobody cares about you, much less loves you! Your parents work for mine, so I know they're never at your house because they're always so busy! And I've seen your sister. She hates your guts, doesn't she?"

Kuki just starting crying harder.

"See? All you're good for is CRYING!" She gave Kuki a kick in the side, sending her back on the ground. It was a hard kick. It would leave a bruise.

"Nobody loves you, nobody likes you, and nobody ever will! You understand me? I SAID DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

"YES!" Kuki yelled, crying hard. "Yes, I know, I know! I know these things, I know!"

"Get up!" Todd said, yanking her up with her arm. "If you're gonna be a useless, stupid bitch, you might as well be treated like one!"

They began pushing her around like some sick game, all getting in a circle and pushing her back and forth.

All Kuki did was let them do it, and cry during every second of it.

* * *

"Ah, this is what life is all about!" Wally said, smiling, laying on his couch in front of the TV. "Watchin' some wrestling, drinkin' some pop, snacks……..Ah, I could get used to this."

Today had been a good day for him. He had done well on that history test, and was thrilled about it. To him getting a good grade was like winning a trophy. He didn't normally get good grades, so he was on an all-time high. And it was all thanks to Kuki.

_I wonder what she's doing right now? _He thought, smiling to himself. _Probably reading or drawing or something like that….Heh heh, she's so smart…… _It had not been the first time he thought about her that day. There were times where he thought he couldn't stop thinking about her. But he didn't mind. He _liked _to think about her.

_I wished I could've hung out with her today….Too bad I had to help Mom….At least I'll see her tomorrow… _He smiled at the thought. He had now accepted that he was in love with her. He would never admit it to anyone, _ever, _but he could accept it for himself. She was a great girl, after all, and she deserved to be loved.

And he didn't mind being the one to do it.

He would never tell Kuki though. Nuh-uh. He didn't want to ruin the good friendship they already had.

But mostly, he knew he wouldn't be able to handle rejection. He wasn't afraid of anything except for that. Rejection was worse than being punched right in the face. Or kicked in the stomach.

Heck, he'd rather be kicked in his sensitive areas than be rejected by Kuki.

"Honeeey! I need you!" Mrs. Beetle's voice went, in a sing-sony voice. Wally groaned. He had helped his mom clean the whole entire house after school. He was ready for some relaxation.

Despite his groaning, he got up and went to the kitchen where his mom was happily slicing some carrot for a salad. "Wally, dear!" she said, smiling at her son. "Could you be a dearie and go get me some groceries from the store?"

He groaned even more. "_Mom!" _he said, exasperated. "I'm tired! Can't I rest awhile?"

"Well, sorry!" his mother said in an accusing tone, frowning. "I mean, why should a mother, who gave her child life, ask her child to do one little thing for her? I mean, she could've gotten an _abortion, _if she wanted to, but no! She wanted a child, but god forbid she ask him to do a little thing like get a measly bag of groceries for her……"

Wally rolled his eyes. _Typical mom rant, _he thought, knowing he was going to lose the battle. "Alright, already," he said, "What do you need?"

"Why, I thought you'd never ask!" she said, her voice perky again. She picked up a list and gave it to him. "Here you go, just get those few things for me and you can rest all you want! And besides, I would've never gotten an abortion….." She pinched his cheeks. "I would've never forgiven myself if I did."

"Okay mom, I got it….." he said, waving her away. "I'll go right now, okay?"

"Okay, bye son!"

He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. _Can't believe I'm headin' out to get groceries when there's a wrestling match on….._ he thought irritably, grasping the list. _Whatever._

He was walking to the store, which was nearby the neighborhood, when two people caught his eye. They seemed to be stumbling, holding onto each other for support. They were laughing, as if keeping balance was fun. Wally walked up to them to see what was up.

It was a boy and a girl, around Wally's age. They were all wobbly, and their eyes didn't seem quite right.

"Uh, you guys alright?" he asked staring at them.

"What? Whoa!" The boy said, looking up at him. "Heeeeey," he said, his voice dragging. "What…What're you doin' here?" he asked.

The girl giggled uncontrollably. "Hah hah, yeah, what are you doooooin' here?" she asked him, hanging on to the guy's shoulder.

Wally knew what he was seeing. They were drunk.

"Uh, you guys need some help or somethin'? You guys….seem a little drunk…."

They laughed. "Well of course we're drunk!" the guy said, looking at him. Then he squinted his eyes, and gave Wally a long look.

"Uh, why are you looking at me?" he asked, a little weirded out.

"Hey, Zoe, it's him!" he said, growing overly excited. "It's the weird dude that hangs out with Kuki!" he said, his voice dragging out Kuki's name.

She gasped. "No! That's….You are!" She started laughing uncontrollably again. "Oh my gosh, it's the weird dude!" The guy started laughing along with her.

"And what's so weird about that?" Wally asked, growing a little angry.

"Duuuuuuuuude, do you even know where Kuki is right now?" he said between laughs.

"No, why?" He was getting really tired of this drunk dude.

"Ooh, I know where she is, I know where she is!" the girl, Zoe, said. "She's at Brooke's party!"

_What? _Wally's eyes widened. "What did you say?" he asked, looking at Zoe. "Where did you say Kuki was?"

"She's at Brooke's party! Ohmygosh, you should go there!" she said, pointing at him. She hiccupped. "The booze is great!"

"Brooke Sanders' party?"

"Well, duuuuuuh…" the guy said, making a ridiculous face. "Who else throws great parties but her? She's….She's gorgeous, that Brooke…."

"Why is she there? Why is she at Brooke's party?" Wally said, his heart racing.

_Kuki, are you okay? Are you hurt? Why are you there? Why did you go without telling me?_

"Who?" asked the girl, a quizzical look on her face.

"KUKI! WHY IS SHE AT BROOKE'S PARY?!?!?" He yelled, his face turning red. His heart was beating a mile a minute.

"I dunno, dude, but you'd better calm down….." said the guy.

"Don't tell me to calm down! Don't you dare tell me to calm down or I'll freakin' punch you!" He grabbed the guy's collar. "Why is she there? Tell me!"

"Dude, I dunno why she's there!" the guy said, suddenly afraid. "She just is, alright? And she's getting ganged up on, let me tell you!"

"What?!?!?"

"They made her cry….like a baby!" Zoe added, smiling. "A cute little baby…."

"They made her cry?!?!? What's going on over there?!?!?"

"Dude, they're messin' her up," he said, still scared. "They invited her to the party to make her suffer……"

Wally had heard enough. He didn't know all the details yet, but he didn't have time for that. He let go of the guy's collar, which sent him falling to the ground.

"Woah, that was fast……." the guy said, watching Wally run.

"Like a rabbit!"

But he was faster than that. Wally ran with all his might towards Brooke's house. The grocery list was no longer in his hand; he had dropped it somewhere.

_Kuki…._He thought, his mind racing. _What's happening to you? What's wrong? _

Faster and faster he went, drops of sweat coming down his face.

_I'm comin', Kuki……_

He had never felt more scared, or angry.

_**I'm comin' for ya, Kuki!**_

_

* * *

_

Around and around she went, being tossed and turned into other people, who pushed her into the hands of the next person.

"Whore!"

"Idiot!"

"Moron!"

"Outcast!"

"Bitch!"

Her tears were never ending. Her emotions overwhelmed her. She had no idea what to do.

She was pushed onto the ground again, and found Brooke standing before her.

"Now do you understand, Kuki?" she said, towering over her. "Now do you understand who you really are? What you are? Do you?"

"Yes!" She cried out, tears overflowing. "I'm a whore, a bitch, a loser, an outcast….I'm nothing!" She slumped over, crying into her arms. "I'm…..I'm nothing……" she whispered.

"That's right, you're……"

"KUKI!"

She raised her head up. She knew that voice, didn't she?

"KUKI!"

_That voice…._She thought, not believing what she was hearing. _Is that….?_

"Kuki, where are ya?!?!?"

She couldn't believe her eyes.

There he was, pushing himself through the crowds of teenagers. He grabbed a guy's collar. "WHERE IS SHE?" he asked glaring at the teen. "WHERE'S KUKI SANBAN?!?!?"

Trembling, the guy pointed in her direction, and he looked. He saw her.

"KUKI!"

He pushed people out of his way, not caring if he knocked them down or not. He had only one goal, and that was to get Kuki and get her out of there.

He came through the glass doors. "Kuki!" he said. "There you are!"

"WALLY!" She got on her feet and ran to him, and jumped right into his arms. "Wally!" She started crying his hoodie.

"Kuki…." He wrapped his arms around her, and for a few seconds, had a sweet moment. They had never been so happy to see each other.

"What are you doing here?!?!?!?" Brooke asked, her voice in a dangerous tone. "I don't recall inviting you to this party! Get out!"

"Oh, I'm leavin', alright," he said, slitting his eyes and giving her the look of death. "But not without Kuki."

"Oh no you don't! She's gonna stay here!" said Brooke, walking up to them. Wally held Kuki tighter.

_No way am I letting you go….._

"If you think I'm gonna leave her here with you morons, you got another thing comin'…." he said, his voice practically dripping with venom. "I'm not letting you touch her."

"Don't you dare talk to my girlfriend like that, punk!" Todd said, coming to Brooke's defense. "Leave now or I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"I'm not leavin' without Kuki!" He took one of his arms of Kuki and grabbed her hand with the other. "Come on, Kuki, we're goin'!"

Todd grabbed Kuki's other arm. "She stays!" Todd yelled, angry.

And in one, graceful movement, Wally let go of Kuki's hand, turned around…..

And punched Todd straight in the eye.

He staggered back and fell to the ground. Wally heard Brooke gasp, and ran to her boyfriend's aid. "You _bastard!_" she screamed, wanting to kill him.

Wally grabbed Kuki's hand. "Kuki, let's go!" he said, and ran for it. She quickly followed suit.

He pushed through people, making the crowd part for them.

_I've gotta get Kuki outta here……._

They made it to the front door. Wally opened it, and had Kuki right behind him, who was grasping his hand as hard as she could.

_Almost there……._

"Outta my way!" he shouted, shoving people. The startled people did as they told him. He looked to angry to mess with. Soon he and Kuki were away from them, and running away.

"Where are we going?" Kuki shouted, running.

"Anywhere but here, just run!"

He didn't know if anybody was after them, but he wasn't taking a chance. He had them run until he thought they were far away from Brooke's house. When he thought it was safe enough, he pulled Kuki behind a tree, collapsed on the ground, and looked behind them. Nobody was coming.

"Okay, we should be safe now….." Wally looked at Kuki, who was sitting beside him behind the tree. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

"Kuki…" he said, instantly softening. His tough demeanor instantly vanished, and he opened his arms up to her. She jumped right in.

"Wally!" she said, burying her face into his hoodie. She began to cry really hard, and all Wally could do was hold her tightly in his arms, letting her cry.

"Oh Wally, it was so horrible!" she said. Wally had never seen her cry so hard. "They called me names, they pushed me, they hurt me…._Oh Wally!"_ She started to hiccup.

"Kuki, shh. It's okay now…." he murmered into her ear, starting to rub her back. "I'm here now, you're safe with me……"

"No, everything is not okay!" she said, pulling herself away from him. "I'm not good for anything! I'm a stupid, useless loser that's not good for anything and that's all I'll ever be! I don't deserve you as a friend or anything else I have! I'm a piece of trash, a stupid useless piece of trash!"

"Kuki, _no,_" he said, grabbing her shoulders. "Is that what they told you? Is that what they said?"

"Y-Yes," she said, hiccupping some more. "And more."

"More?"

"Yes! And they're right, they're all right! It's all true! I'm so stupid! _Stupid stupid stupid!_" She banged her fist against her forehead, tears falling to the ground.

"Kuki, those are all lies!" Wally protested, grabbing her by the arms, trying to look at her. His heart was breaking, seeing her like this.

"No they're not! They're not, all I'm good for is crying! I should be dead!"

That last sentence made his heart stop. "Dead?" he said. "Did they tell you that you should _die?_"

She nodded, crying to hard to stop.

Wally felt lethal. _When I go back to that school, I swear they're gonna have to get the police to stop me from killin' em' all! _He thought, in rage. He never felt so angry before. He felt like beating up somebody, beating them bloody. Of course, he would never kill anybody, but at the moment, he felt the he could.

"Kuki," he said, taking her head so he looked at her straight in the eyes. "They're all so wrong about you. So wrong….You have to promise me you'll never……." He bit his lip to keep from crying himself. "Promise me you'll never kill yourself, okay?"

"I would never do that," she said, hiccupping. "But it's all I'm good for!"

"Kuki, _no. _They're wrong, they're all wrong! They're idiots, Kuki! They're all stupid idiots! You're not the moron, they are! Don't believe what they said, Kuki! They could not be more wrong about this! Trust me, I know!"

"No you don't!" she said, her tears glistening in the moonlight. "How can they be wrong when all of them agree that I'm a worthless little outcast?"

"_Because of Brooke!_" he yelled, trying hard to convince Kuki they were wrong. "They're all so desperate to be either her friend or boyfriend that they'll do anything she tells them to just to be with her! So when she decided to pick on you, they all did! Kuki…."

He lifted her chin up. "You don't know just how amazing you are……."

Kuki's eyes widened. "Amazing?" she whispered, as if it were a new word to her. "I'm not amazing….You're wrong…."

"No," he said, looking straight into her beautiful dark eyes. "I'm right. Kuki, you amaze me. I've never met a person like you. You're so amazing that sometimes I can' believe I'm actually your friend," he said, and he meant every word, with all of his heart.

"W-What?" She couldn't believe her ears.

Wally brought her close, and wrapped his arms around her, making her head rest against her shoulder.

"When I met you," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, but loudly enough for Kuki to hear. "I was afraid that you'd be like all the other girls. Materialistic, bossy, obsessed with makeup….I was so afraid that I was trying to make friends with one of the girls I saw everyday, the ones I loathed.

"Girls like Brooke drive me crazy, Kuki. I hate them. The way they act, the way they are….It disgusts me. Brooke disgusts me. I have never felt attracted to her the day I started here. Oh, she tried to get my attention at first, oh sure. But it didn't work, and that angered her. I thought it was funny the way I had that big of an effect on her.

"But you're not like her, Kuki. You're not like all the other girls. You're special. I should've noticed it from the start. I should've never been afraid to get close to you. You're everything a person should be, Kuki. You're smart, you're fun, you're talented, and you've got the biggest heart of gold I've ever seen. I've never met someone as kind as you, Kuki. Despite how everyone treats you, you treat everyone with kindness, and hate to make anyone sad or hurt anyone's feelings."

_That's what I love most about you, _he thought, before continuing.

"If it were me in your shoes, I'd be the meanest guy alive," he said, holding her closer. He wanted to hold her and never let go.

"I don't believe that," Kuki said, starting to calm down a bit. She was still crying, but she wasn't hiccupping anymore.

"It's true, Kuki. I wouldn't have let anyone near me. I wouldn't be friends with anybody. I would've just wanted everyone to leave me alone, and I would beat up anybody who made fun of me. I would've been terrible."

"You know what else you are, Kuki? You're brave."

"No I'm not….." she said, her head still buried in his hoodie. "I'm afraid of everyone but you….."

"You're brave," he said again, trying to get his point across. "You know what you have to face everyday, but you get up and go to school anyway, determined to get on with your life. I admire that."

"And you have so many talents, Kuki. How can you think you're useless? You're the smartest person I know, you're an awesome artist, and a fierce videogame player. And that's probably not even the beginning of it. You probably have other talents that I just haven't seen yet. I'm certain at that. You're not useless, Kuki. You're the exact opposite of it."

"And you're not a loser, or an outcast, or whatever else they called you. They're dead wrong," he whispered. "You're the exact opposite of that, too. You're anything but that."

He meant every word of it.

Kuki couldn't believe it. Wally was actually telling her what she'd been wanting to hear forever. She always wanted someone to tell her that they were wrong, that she wasn't all those things. It made her love him even more.

"Wally….You….You really mean it?"

"With all my heart."

For a while, they just sat there. Kuki was still buried in Wally's hoodie, and his arms were still wrapped around her. Kuki had never felt more safe in her entire life. In his arms, she felt like nobody could get her, or touch her.

_Everything is okay as long as I'm with Wally _she thought, bringing her arms around him.

Wally's heart was beating fast. He had never imagined holding Kuki this close, holding her so tight. He didn't want to let her go, not for a minute. He just wanted to hold her until the end of time.

"I love you," he whispered without thinking.

"What?"

His eyes bulged. _What did I just say? _he thought, his heart racing. _Did I just say…..?_

"What did you say, Wally?" she said, looking up at him. "I thought you said something, but I couldn't hear it. What was it?"

His mind raced for something for him to say. "N-Nothin'…." Wally said, trying to cover up for his accidental confession.

"Oh….." she said, looking down to the ground. "I thought you said something….."

He looked at her, and watched her. The wind was gently blowing her hair in the breeze. The moonlight made her shine. He noticed the skirt and the special sweater, and the innocent look on her face.

_She's beautiful…_he thought, unable to take his eyes off her.

He had to say it. He needed to say it. He wanted to say it.

"I love you."

Kuki's head popped up. "W-W-What?" she asked, not believing what she heard.

"I love you," he said, feeling a kind of confidence he never felt before. "I know you don't feel the same way, Kuki, but I do. I can't help it. I think you're perfect," he said, looking straight at her. "You're every good thing a person can be, and I've fallen for you. There are days where I can't stop thinking about you."

He scooted closer to her. "I don't want to ruin our friendship just because of my feelings, but I have to tell you how you make me feel, Kuki. I'd do anything for you. Absolutely anything. You make my heart beat a mile a minute. I enjoy every minute when I'm with you. I'm happiest when I'm around you. I'd never make you cry, Kuki. _Never. _I hate to see you cry. I'd never call you names. I'd never hurt you. I love you too much to ever do that. You're awesome and wonderful and kind and smart and beautiful and everything in between. I can't stop thinking about you Kuki, and all I want to do is hold you in my arms forever and never let you go. I want to protect you and be with you. I…….I……" He wasn't sure what to say next. "I just…….I love you, Kuki."

She felt like she was going to faint.

_Is this real, or is this a dream? _she thought, a million thoughts racing through her head. _Did he really just say that he…..that he loves me? Me? The girl who no one likes?_

She looked into his beautiful green orbs, and they told her everything. He wasn't lying. He meant everything.

_He…..loves me……._

"Kuki?" he said, a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay? Do….Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" she said quickly, never wanting him to leave. "I don't want you to ever leave me….." she said, her voice low.

"I don't plan on ever leaving you," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I could never do that."

"Wally…."

"Yes, Kuki?"

She started to blush madly. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. It was unreal.

"……I love you too."

His heart leaped. _She…….She loves me? _he thought, blinking. _She loves me? Really?_

"I love you, Wally," she said again, as if she could read his mind, which she couldn't.

"Kuki……"

"Wally….."

They scooted closer towards each other, and their faces grew closer. Their hearts were racing, their minds were racing…..They both had never felt happier.

And then their eyes closed, and their lips touched. Their first kiss. It was a simple, heartfelt kiss. Just their lips touched, and it lasted for minutes. Their stomachs were filled with excited butterflies.

When they parted, their faces barely grew apart from each other. They stared into each other's eyes intently. They heard nothing else, saw nothing else. They were in their own little world.

Then Wally's arms wrapped around her, and she draped hers over his neck. Their faces grew closer once again, and closed their eyes until they felt each others soft lips on theirs. The kiss grew deeper, and they held each other more tightly. Wally brought one of his hands to her cheek, and then touched the back of her neck. They didn't want to let each other go. Not now, not ever.

After a few minutes they broke apart, and they just held each other, holding each other close. They said nothing; there was no need for words. All they needed was each other. That's all they ever needed.

After a while Wally finally brought his lips to her ear, and whispered softly, "I'll take you home."

"Okay," she whispered, lifting her head up and looking at him again. He stared at her some more before finally getting up. He held out his hand for her, and she took it, and got up. She stumbled a little, and almost fell, but Wally caught her. "Whoa," he said, catching her before she hit the ground. "You okay, Kuki?"

"Yeah, my knees are just a little weak…"

He helped her up, and then they headed towards her house. He put his arm around her on the walk back, and she put her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that the whole way.

When they finally got to her house, he gave her a long, meaningful hug, which she eagerly responded to by hugging him back. They hugged for what seemed like forever until they finally let go.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said, giving her a smile, his voice low. "Okay?"

"Okay," she whispered, smiling back. "I can't wait."

"Me either."


	13. The Date

**Hey guys! I was so thrilled to read the reviews for chapter 12. I loved that chapter, and it was so wonderful to read how all of you liked it too. And I'm over 100 reviews! That's never happened to me before! It's crazy! AAAH! So happy! I gotta say, I'm not sure how the rest of the story is gonna go. I mean, I have a few ideas, and maybe a few time skips (marriage? Children?), but not sure what else. It might end up becoming a bunch of short stories of their life later, like in college and marriage and stuff. I dunno. I'm thinking about it. And all of you seem to want them to get back at Brooke somehow. That's another thing I'm gonna have to think about…Hmm…Any suggestions? Anyways, I'm really REALLY happy about the reviews from chapter 12, and I hope you like chapter 13. It's not as big as chapter 12, but it's fluffy and stuff, so hopefully you'll like it. I hope you do.**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 13

The Date

Sunlight poured through Kuki's bedroom, coming across her face, which caused her eyes to open slightly. It was a beautiful morning, and the birds could be heard chirping. A big smile went across her face. Scenes of the night before came through her mind, and excitement rushed through her. She sprang out of her bed, eager to start the day.

She got dressed and brushed her teeth in a happy state of mind, humming to herself for no particular reason. There was a spring in her step, a smile on her face, and love in her heart.

And it was freaking Mushi out.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" she asked her as Kuki poured some Rainbow Munchies (which was still her favorite cereal) into a bowl. "You're bein'…..weird. Not yourself."

"I'm not?" Kuki asked, looking at her sister. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you're _happy. _Joyful. Pleasant. That's not normal for you. What in the world happened to you?"

She smiled even wider. "Mushi, how do you feel when you're around Sandy?" she asked her, joining her at the table.

"Sandy? What does he have to do with anything?"

"Nothing, I'm just curious."

Mushi blinked at her sister's question. _What is up with her today? _she thought, confused. _Where's my unhappy, depressed, shy sister? I don't like this._

She masked her confusion and tried to act nonchalant. "Happy, I guess. He's my boyfriend after all. Something you don't have." She smirked, hoping to get a reaction out of her.

And she got one. Just not the one she was expecting. Kuki blushed, smiling, her head bent down. "I do now…" she said almost to herself, sighing.

Mushi almost choked on her cereal. "WHAT?" She thought she heard wrong. _Did she just say she has a BOYFRIEND?_

"I'm surprised too," Kuki said, taking note of her sister's expression. "I thought it would never happen to me. Ever. But….last night……" She sighed again.

Mushi tried to compose herself. Choking was not one of the things she had on her to do list. "What happened last night?" she asked, wondering what happened.

Kuki grew excited. _Mushi wants to talk to me! _she thought, grinning. That never happened to her. She was thrilled. First Wally, now this?

So she told her everything. She told her about the party, Joe, the beer, Brooke, her friends. She told her about the letter, how they tricked her, and what they did to her. These parts Kuki said with a sad, sullen expression, which Mushi smirked at.

_Figures, _she thought, sickeningly happy about her sister's unhappiness. _She gets what she deserves. _

However, she started to frown when Kuki got to the part where Wally sprang into action and saved her. When she said this, her sad expression was immediately replaced by a joyful one. And when she told her about when they got away, she couldn't believe what she heard.

"He told me they were all wrong about me," she said. "And that I was nothing like they said I was. He said that he thought I was a wonderful person. I can't believe he thinks that, but it makes me happy to think someone does. And he held me in his arms the whole time. I felt so safe, like no one could touch me. He was so sweet…." She blushed even harder. Mushi felt that she was going to be sick.

"And then he told me he loved me, right there and then. I couldn't believe it. I thought that I heard wrong, that maybe it was a mistake, but it wasn't. He meant it, I could tell. And, well…….." Her face turned red. "I had always loved him, so I told him I loved him too. And he kissed me, and……." She looked dreamy. She was practically glowing.

Mushi was angry. _This isn't supposed to happen, _she thought, clenching her teeth. _I'm supposed to be the happy one, the one who has it all. She's supposed to be the little rat that nobody likes. I'm the one that gets a boyfriend, not her. This isn't right. That stupid Wally….I should've known he'd be trouble. _

"He's lying," she said, looking at Kuki. "He didn't mean it. He doesn't love you."

Kuki's head popped up in surprise. "What?" she said, unsure of what she said.

"He can't possibly love you, Kuki. Nobody likes you. Nobody. He probably just feels sorry for you, that's it. That's gotta be it. I mean, do you really believe that this guy likes you? Are you really sure?" She gave her a hard stare.

But this time, Kuki didn't back down. "Yes," she said, her voice soft and calm. "I think he does. I looked into his eyes, Mushi. He….He couldn't possibly be lying. He's not that kind of guy. He would never do that to me. Never." She never felt so sure in her entire life.

Mushi growled. "You're gonna be really disappointed when he dumps you like the trash you are," she said. "You're gonna be sorry, Kuki."

That really hurt her, deep inside. It felt like somebody had punched her in her stomach. Knowing that nobody liked you was one thing, but your sister? It was terrible.

"Mushi…" she said, feeling defeated. "What can I do to get you to like me? I just want us to be friends. That's all I ever wanted….."

Her evil little sister laughed. "Friends? Us?" She smirked. "I would never be friends with a loser like you. In case you haven't noticed, I have friends of my own, and I've got a reputation to maintain. It's hard enough trying to be cool when you've got a sister like you. I will _never _be your friend, Kuki. _Ever._"

And with that, she walked away and went out the door to meet her friends.

Kuki slumped in her chair. _I should've known, _she thought, trying to fight the sadness inside of her. _I should've never hoped that she would like me. I made the same mistake last night…._

_Ding dong!_

Kuki's head popped up and looked towards the door. _Who could that be? _she wondered, walking up to the door. _I don't think mom and dad are expecting any packages……_

"Hello?" she said, opening the door. Her heart leapt when she saw who it was.

"Hey, Kooks," said Wally, blushing slightly. He was wearing the Umberto's shirt Mr. Melloni had given them on their first day. "I, um, well….." He rubbed the back of his head. "I thought maybe we could walk to work together. Is…Is that okay?"

Kuki grinned, forgetting all about her sister and her mean comments. All she saw now was Wally. "I'll go put on my shirt," she said. "I'll be right back." She ran inside the house and put on her shirt as fast as she could. _He came to see me! _She thought excitedly. _Me! I can't believe it! _She was back outside before Wally could blink.

"That was fast," he said, smiling at her. "What are ya, some sorta super hero with super speed?"

She laughed. "No silly……." she said. She started to blush. "I'm just…..really glad to see you, that's all….."

He` smiled. "I'm really glad to see you too," he said. He took her hand, and they started to walk to work.

* * *

Mr. Melloni was watching eagerly out the window, scanning for Wally and Kuki. _I don't see them! Where are they? _he thought. _Why must they keep me waiting so long?_

"Hey, boss," said one of his cooks. "What are you looking for? I've never seen you so eager for the new workers to get here." His name was Phil, and he had worked for Mr. Melloni for ages. He was the Italian's closest friend, and was wondering why he was acting so strange.

"Because I must see them!" he said, turning to him. "It has been forever since I set them up on that date! Something has have to have happened by now!" he said.

"Hey, listen, boss, don't get too excited over this. I was there, remember? They looked like they weren't really into each other. Believe me, you're just setting yourself up for a lot of disappointment."

"BAH!" he said, ignoring Phil's comment. "You know nothing of romance, Phillip. Believe me, I am an Italian. I know all about the romance. Those two, they were made for each other. I can feel it. You just leave the romancing up to me, yes?"

"But boss…."

"Phillip, how can you question me? Remember when Tracy and Jack worked here? Huh? Remember?"

The young chef rolled his eyes. "Yes," he said, crossing his arms.

"And who was it that got those two together, hmm?"

Phil couldn't meet his eyes. "You did," he said, begrudgingly.

"And who set up their first date, just like I did with Kuki and Wally?"

"You did…"

"And where are those two now, huh? Remind me why they quit, Phillip."

"Boss…."

Mr. Melloni glared at him. "Why did they quit, Phillip?"

He sighed, defeated. "Because they were going to get married and move away."

"HAH! You see! I have a gift with this!" he said. "I am the Master of Romance! The All-Knowing when it comes to love! I see two people that must be together, and then I have them fall in love, and it works every time!"

"That's only happened to you once…."

"SHUSH!" he interrupted him. "I know what I'm doing! So watch your mouth, or I'll fire you."

"You'd never fire me, and you know it."

"I said SHUSH!"

* * *

They walked quietly to the pizza shop, enjoying each other's company. They were both blushing madly, but they were too happy to care.

When they finally got there, Wally was surprised to see Mr. Melloni looking out the window, looking straight at them. He looked excited, as if he just won the lottery.

"Uh, Kooks?"

"Hmm?"

"Uh, does Mr. Melloni usually look at the window like that?"

"Huh?"

"Look." He pointed him out to her, and she blushed even harder. "He's looking at us…." she said nervously.

"Yeah, I know," he said, looking back at him. "It's kind of creepy. I wonder what he's so excited about…."

Mr. Melloni ran out the door and met up with them. "Kuki! Wally! How nice it is to see you!" he said, a big grin plastered on his face. "How are you two doing, eh?"

"We're doing fine…." Wally said cautiously, wondering what he was so happy about. "What about you?"

"Me? I am wonderful! But the important thing is, how are _you_? That's what I'd like to know!"

"I just told you we're…."

"Out with it boy!" Mr. Melloni said, smacking his head. "You think you can hide it away from me? I see you two, holding hands! I knew it! I knew you two were meant for each other, did I not? It was me! I am the one who put you two together! Ha! And Phil doubted me! Ha, I knew I was good at this! Us Italians are never wrong!"

"Mr. Melloni….You think you put us together?" Kuki asked, blushing harder. Wally was still rubbing his head from getting hit.

"I did, didn't I? I set you up on that date, did I not? I was right all along, and everyone doubted me. They say, 'Mr. Melloni, you are wrong, they do not like each other that way!' But did I give up? No! I say, "YOU are the wrong ones! I know romance! You know nothing.' That is what I say. And was I wrong? No. I am ready for you to thank me now."

"But we-" Wally started to say, but Kuki interrupted him. "Thank you, Mr. Melloni. We're very happy," she said sweetly. Mr. Melloni grinned in response.

"You're welcome. Now, as happy as I am for you two, you must work! No signs of affection in public, you here? You can go to the back room for that."

They both blushed at that. "Uh…." Wally muttered, trying to think of a response. "Right sir, heh heh…." He laughed nervously.

"Good! Now get to work, you little lovebirds!" he walked back to the restaurant, clearly pleased with himself. He set off to boast about it to a very surprised Phil.

"What….What just happened?" Wally asked, glancing at Kuki.

She stared at the ground. "I guess he thinks he's the reason we're together because of that date he put us on, remember?"

"How could I forget?" he said, remembering that day. That was so awkward…

"Well…." she said, looking up at him. "I guess we should get to work then, huh?" She looked disappointed, as if she didn't want their romantic little walk to end.

"Yeah…." He stared at her and smiled. "Guess we'll have to wait 'till afterward to go out on a date then, huh?"

"A date?" she squeaked, surprised.

"Yeah, a date. You wanna go on one?"

"I….." She felt so excited. "I would love to! Go on a date with you, I mean."

"I'm glad…." He stared at her for a second, not wanting to take his eyes off her. He thought she looked cute in her waitress shirt. "Guess we should get to work then."

So they did go to work. Kuki was still a little shy asking people for their orders, but she did her best. It wasn't hard for them to speak in a happy, cheery manner like Mr. Melloni instructed. They were already feeling pretty great.

They worked until six p.m., only stopping for a lunch break. While working, they would steal glances at each other and smile, blushing, then continue their work. Throughout the whole day Mr. Melloni would smile at them, proud of himself for thinking he was the reason they were together. He wouldn't stop boasting about it either. He kept bragging to his cooks about how he did it in extreme detail. Kuki and Wally did their best not to listen.

Once they were finally done they said their goodbyes to the cooks and the boss, tossed in their rags, and out the door. Wally was quick to take Kuki's hand again, which she accepted gladly.

"I'm hungry," he said, rubbing his stomach. "Wanna get something to eat?"

"Okay, but shouldn't we change first?" she asked, looking at her shirt. They didn't have any stains on their shirts, but she felt like she should wear something nice for her first date.

"Nah," he said. "We look fine. Besides…." His face reddened, and he smiled. "I think you look cute."

Her heart jumped at the compliment, and she smiled back. "Thank you…." she said shyly. She wasn't used to getting compliments.

They stopped at a casual little Chinese place, and grabbed seats at a table. "So, Kuki," Wally said, sliding into his chair. "What do you want to talk about?"

Kuki looked down at her feet, shy. "I don't know," she said. "I've never been on a date before…."

"You haven't?"

"No, this is my first….And last night…." Her cheeks tinted red. "Those were my first kisses, ever."

"Really? That's a coincidence…."

"What is?"

"Well, this is my first date too. And you're the first girl I've ever kissed."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "W-What?" she asked, not believing it. "Really?"

He laughed. "Why are you so surprised? You think I was some sort of stud or something back in Australia?"

She nodded her head. Yes, she _did _think he was a stud back in Australia. He laughed even more.

"Ha! That's funny!"

"Why's it so funny?"

He calmed down. "I didn't really like any of the girls back in Australia. I didn't want anything to do with them. And they knew it. So they stayed away from me. I'm pretty sure some of them thought I was a weirdo, to tell you the truth."

"Why would they think you're a weirdo?" she asked. "You're not a weirdo."

"Sure I was!" he said, smiling. He didn't really care what people thought he was. "I was the only guy in the whole school who didn't want to date anybody. That was weird to them."

"Why….Why didn't you want to date anybody then?" she asked. "What made you want to date me? I mean, you could probably have anyone you wanted…."

"Don't want anybody else. I don't date just anybody, and all the girls in my old school seemed the same to me. And you know why I want to date you. I told you last night, didn't I? Or do I need to remind you?" He didn't say this in a mean way, he just wanted to make sure she knew.

She nodded. She did remember. All the wonderful things he said about her went through her head, and she smiled. "Thanks, Wally."

"You're welcome," he said. "So, anything you wanna talk about? Politics? Math? Science? Anything?" He seemed casual and laid-back, but truthfully, he was just as nervous as she was. _I hope I don't mess this up and say anything stupid, _he thought to himself, trying to act normal. _I don't wanna embarrass myself in front of her. _

Kuki laughed. "No…" she said, trying to think of something to talk about. "What about your family?" she asked. "What are they like?"

"My family? Well…." He put his hands behind his head, trying to act as if he was just hanging out with her, and not out on a date. "My mom is a stay-home mom…."

"Really? That must be nice, to have your mom around all the time," Kuki said, wishing her own mother did that.

"Yeah, it is. She cooks and cleans and stuff, and always treats me like a kid. She means well, though. She's a really great cook. And my dad, he's a regular pencil-pusher. I don't know how he does it. He drags me to work on bring-your-daughter-to-work days, which sucks, 'cause I'm not a girl, but he insists I come anyway since he doesn't have a girl. He just sits in his office all day and does paperwork. He says he loves it, but it makes me wanna tear my hair out."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"Yeah, a little six-year-old named Joey." This brought a smile to Kuki's face. She loved kids. "He's a cute little tyke. He's really into Transformers right now. He's also taken in interest in dodge ball. I swear, he's the most talented hitter in the world, I have no idea how he got so talented. I'm kinda proud of him for that."

"He sounds really cute. I'd like to meet him," she said.

"You will eventually," he said. _After I break the news to my parents that I have a girlfriend…_

"What about your family?" He asked, taking a drink of his soda. "What are they like?"

She froze. "M-My family?" She stuttered.

"Yeah. What are they like?"

"Um…" She didn't quite know what to say. Nobody ever asked about her family before, and she really didn't want to talk about it. It was a sensitive issue for her.

"Um….Well…..My parents work for a company….."

"Both of em'?"

"Y-Yeah…They're….They're really successful. They really love their job…." _More than anything, _she thought to herself. "I mean, they really love it. And…They're the best employees in the whole business…."

Wally noticed her discomfort. "Kuki?" he said in a low voice. "Are you okay? You seem….kinda sad…"

She gulped. "I'm fine…." she lied.

"No, you aren't. What's wrong?" He was concerned. "Did I…Did I do something wrong?" he asked worriedly, afraid he messed everything up.

"What? No!" she assured him. "No! It's just….." She twiddled her fingers. "It's kind of hard for me to talk about my family….."

"Oh…." He had so many questions to ask, wondering what was wrong with her family, but decided to shut up. "You don't have to talk about it, then, Kooks. Not if you're uncomfortable."

She straightened up in her seat. "No," she said, suddenly wanting to tell him. _I want him to really know me, _she thought, looking at him. _I want to tell him everything. _"I'm okay. I want to tell you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah…"

He took her hand from under the table. "Then tell me," he said softly, looking into her eyes. "I'm all ears."

So she told him everything. She told him how her parents are hardly ever home, and had never had any time for her or anything else except work. She told them how they were boring and stiff, and that the only thing they cared about was their jobs. Then she told him about Mushi, which was even harder for her. She told him how she hated her, and how she treated her. It hurt to talk about it, but it felt good at the same time. She was finally opening herself up to him, and it felt good.

When she finished, Wally just gazed at her. "Kuki…." he said, still holding her hand. "I…I'm so sorry, Kooks…"

"It's okay…." she said, giving him a weak smile. "I'm okay, really…."

Then the waitress came up and gave them their food, and they ate in silence. When they finished, Wally insisted on paying for dinner, and they left, and started walking. It was getting dark, and it was a full moon.

_Her sister treats her just like everyone else does, _Wally thought, looking at Kuki, who was walking beside her. _Her parents don't pay any attention to her….Things are just as bad for her at home like they are at school…Kuki…_

He stopped walking, causing Kuki to stop. "Wally?" she said, wondering what he stopped for.

He just looked into her eyes for a moment, before taking her in his arms into an embrace. Kuki was surprised.

"I'm sorry, Kooks," he whispered, holding her tight. "I didn't know things were as bad for you at home as it is at school. I had no idea…."

She relaxed, and put her arms around him, her heart beating a mile a minute. "It's okay," she whispered back. "I'm okay, Wally…."

"I want you to know that I'll always be there for you, Kooks…" he began, stroking her hair. "When things are bad for you, I'll always be here for you. I won't hurt you, or call you names, or ignore you, or anything like that. I'll always be there to catch you when you fall."

Kuki felt like she was going to cry. His words were so kind, so wonderful. In his arms, she felt so safe. Nobody could hurt her in Wally's arms. With him, everything would always be okay. Nothing bad would happen to her as long as he was there.

"Thank you," she said, trying to keep herself from crying. "That means so much to me, Wally….You don't know how much that means to me….." She wanted to kiss him so badly, but she was too shy to make the first move.

"I mean it Kuki," he said, holding her tighter. "You're always welcome in my arms."

_Kiss me, _she thought, hoping with all her heart that he would. _Please kiss me….I love you….Kiss me…_

He took her chin up, and looked at her watering eyes. "Kuki, you're crying…."

"No I'm not…."

"Yes you are. Are you okay?"

"Wally, I've never felt more okay in my entire life."

_Go on, Wally…._he prodded himself, trying to get his head to move. _You kissed her twice last night, you can do it again….Just kiss her…..You can do it….._

His heart pounding, he brought his head closer to her, and Kuki started to lower her eyes. _Kiss me, Wally…._

_That's right, just a little more, and kiss her….._

His lips finally met hers, and he was relieved when she kissed him back. Their hearts were both beating hard, and it was the best feeling in the world. Kuki forgot about all the hurt and her family, and just thought about Wally's soft lips against hers, and about the wonderful feeling she got every time she kissed him. He was thinking of the same thing.

But all good things have to end eventually, and they both broke the kiss at the same time. They gazed in each other's eyes for a bit, and Wally brought his forehead to hers and smiled. She smiled back.

Maybe the first date hadn't been perfect. It was a little sad and akward, but it ended in the best possible way.

And besides, they knew there would be more dates in the future. A lot more.

* * *

**This chapter was a little shorter than usual, but I like the way it came out. I hope you guys liked it! It's hard to follow up a big chapter like chapter 12. And the next chapter they'll be going to school, and the secret will be out! Exciting! Thanks to all my wonderful readers. Every review is GREATLY appreciated, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it!**


	14. The Chosen One

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 14

The Nameless Chapter

_Beep beep beep! _Wally's emerald eyes shot open at the sound of the evil alarm clock that awakened him everyday at 6:45 a.m. in the morning. He stopped the annoying beeping by banging it with his fist and sat up, yawning and stretching his arms.

It was Monday morning, the one day all high school students hated most. Especially Wally. He _hated _them. He dreaded them the night before, and was at his worst on Mondays. You did not mess with Wally on Mondays.

But today, he awoke with a smile. How couldn't he? His weekend had been the best he'd ever had. He spent it all with Kuki, and smiled even more at the fact that he would see her today.

_Just think, if you had never moved here, you would have never known her, _he thought, taking off his white t-shirt he slept in. _I hate everyone else in the cruddy school, but I am so glad we moved here. _

After getting dressed he headed down the stairs and into the kitchen, where his mother was making breakfast, and his father was reading the newspaper at the table. His father saw him and smiled.

"Good mornin', sport! Ready for another day of school?"

"Yep!" Wally said cheerily, opening the fridge and taking out some orange juice. "Never been more ready in my entire life."

His parents looked at him, surprised. "What's up with you?" his mother said, walking up to him. "You're never happy on Mondays! Never have been! Are you feeling ill, dear?" She put a hand to his forehead to check for a fever.

"What? No. I'm fine! What, a guy can't be happy on a Monday?" Wally asked, taking another swig of juice.

"Well, I'm just a little surprised, son," his father said, taking his plate to the sink. "You usually aren't so cheerful on Mondays."

"Now that I think about it," his mother said, looking at Wally. "You've seemed to be more cheerful lately, Wallabee. You've been that way ever since you came back on Friday night, without the groceries I asked for. You know, you never told me what happened that night, by the way. Care to explain, son?"

_Oh crud, _he thought, drinking more of his juice so he could think of a response. _I don't want to tell them about Kuki yet…..I'm not ready! What the crud to I tell them? _He glanced at his parents, who were standing there patiently, waiting for an answer.

He finished his drink, without thinking of an answer. "Listen, I'll tell ya later, alright?" he said, taking the glass to the sink. "I gotta get ready and get to school now." He ran up the stairs to finish getting ready before they could say anything. He brushed his teeth, grabbed his book bag, and ran out the door. "Bye Mum bye Dad!" he yelled, closing the door behind him. He grinned to himself. _I got away with it!_

He walked down the sidewalk, heading towards Kuki's house. He decided he would walk to school with her from now on. That was something boyfriends usually did, right? He was pretty sure they did. Besides, he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could.

He arrived at the door and rang the bell and listened to the familiar ring. He was surprised when Kuki did not answer the door, but someone else.

"Hello?" Mushi poked her head out and looked up at him. "What the….Who the heck are you?"

"Uh, hey," he said, giving her smile. "Is, uh, Kuki there?"

"Kuki? What do you want her for? Who are you?"

"I'm Wally, Kuki's boyfriend. Are you Mushi?"

Her eyes widened. "No way……." she muttered to herself, looking at Wally up and down. _No way is this hot guy the Wally that's dating Kuki!_

"Mushi? You are Mushi, right?" He was certain it was her. Kuki said she had one sister.

"Yeah, yeah, that's me…." she said, still stunned. This surprise had knocked her off guard. "Uh, Kuki?" she yelled, not taking her eyes of off the Australian, "Wally's here…."

"He is?" Kuki came out of her doorway and looked down the railing, and saw him. "Wally! Hi! What are you doing here?"

"I thought we'd walk to school together," he replied. 'That's okay with you, right?" He hoped it was.

"Of course it is! Just give me a minute, I'll be right back!" She stepped back into her room, leaving Mushi and Wally alone again.

Questions swam through Mushi's mind. _This guy is dating my sister? This can't be possible! _she thought to herself, allowing herself to stare at him some more. _He's hot! He's cool! Guys like him don't date girls like Kuki! He's gotta have another reason for dating her! He's just gotta! He can't possibly have feelings for her!_

Wally, on the other hand, found it weird that a twelve year old was staring at him like he were some freak of nature. "Uh…..Why are you staring at me like that?"

She blushed, and looked away. "Sorry, I'm just a little…..shocked, I guess…"

"Shocked? About what?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" she said, regaining her calm and cool composure. "It's not every day that some cute guy comes to the door asking for my sister. Usually the cute ones are after me." She smiled.

"Oh really?" He stared at her. "Well, no offense, but I really don't have a thing for twelve year old girls."

She flinched, not expecting that kind of answer. Just then, Kuki came down the stairs.

"I'm ready!" she said, coming up to him. "Sorry you had to wait!"

"No, that's alright. It was nice meeting you Mushi."

"Yeah, you too," she said through grit teeth. She slammed the door angrily behind them.

_He has __**got **__to have another reason for dating her! _she thought. _There is no way he actually has feelings for my dumb, useless sister! He's up to something…And I'm going to figure out what it is…No matter what!_

* * *

Kuki and Wally walked to school hand in hand, enjoying each others company on their way to school. Everything was going fine. They just talked and laughed, and nothing seemed amiss.

But Wally noticed the closer they got to the school, the more tense his girlfriend got. Her mouth was set in a straight line, and her grip on his hand became a little tighter.

"Kuki, you okay? You seem….tense."

"W-What? M-Me? No, I'm fine…" she said, her voice a little higher than before.

"But you're stuttering."

"Huh?"

"You're stuttering. When you get nervous you stutter."

"N-No I d-don't."

"You just did."

"N-No I didn't….."

He gave her a look that said, _What do you think I am, an idiot? _"Kuki, c'mon. You can tell me anything."

She sighed. "I'm scared. Of _them._"

Wally paused and stopped to think of who she could be referring to, and finally got it. "You mean Brooke? Todd? Those guys?"

"Y-Y-Yeah. You saw what they did to me on Friday night. If you hadn't saved me……If you weren't there to protect me…." she gulped. "I don't know what would have happened. And now they're going to be _angry_, Wally. Angry at me for getting away. And…who knows what Brooke will have in store for me? Todd…He'll do anything Brooke tells him to…What if he….? What if…?" Her voice was strained with fear."

Wally stopped. He let go of her hand and instead turned her around, his hands on her shoulders. He looked her straight in her eyes.

"Kuki…." His voice was confident and fearless. "You have nothing to be afraid of. I'm not gonna let anybody hurt you or tease you. Not while I'm around. And Brooke and Todd aren't gonna be mad at you. They're gonna be mad at _me. I'm _the one who went into Brooke's house uninvited. _I'm _the one who took you away from there. But you know what? I ain't afraid of them. All Brooke does is run her mouth and boast about how great she thinks she is. And Todd? I can take him on easy. I'll beat him to a bloody pulp is he lays even a finger on you, which he won't, 'cause I won't let him."

He pulled her into an embrace, and said, "I'll protect you, Kuki. I promise."

Instantly her fears melted into a little puddle, and she wrapped her arms around him, smiling. "Thank you, Wally. I feel much better now."

He pulled away from her, grinning. "I'm glad. Try not to worry anymore, okay?" He took her hand again and they began walking to school again.

"Okay….But I can't guarantee anything."

He just nodded. "I understand." By now the school was in full view. Kuki took in a deep breath and tried to put on a determined face. "Let's go," she said, trying to be braver. Wally smiled at her effort. "Let's do this," he said.

Now, it was already big enough news that the Australian kid actually had the guts to come in and save Kuki during the party. People had talked about it ever since the party. It was pretty shocking news to them. Nobody had ever done something like that for Kuki Sanban. They didn't think anyone ever would. And the way he did it! He was so angry, and so set on getting Kuki out of there! He actually cared about her! Someone cared about Gallagher High's biggest outcast! He even punched Todd in the face! Now THAT was something to talk about.

But the students had never thought _this _would happen.

Kuki and Wally were the center of attention the moment they set foot in the brightly lit hallways, holding hands. All eyes were on them, and they all seemed surprised. Whispering soon ensued, and pointing, and gossiping.

It was wonderful and terrible at the same time.

On one hand, Kuki was glad to finally reveal that she had a boyfriend. It had been the best thing that ever happened to her, and it was only a matter of time before others would've found out anyway.

However, she hated all the attention people were giving her. She was used to being the quiet lonely girl sitting in a dark corner, away from everyone else. Now that everyone was talking about them and watching them, she wanted to vanish into thin air.

And, despite all the comfort Wally had given her, she could help but slowly scan the halls for a certain blonde and her friends. It was a habit she had gained over the years, and today it seemed especially crucial for her to know exactly where her tormentors were. It was only a matter of time before she would see them again.

_But you have Wally now, _a little voice told her inside her head. _He loves you, and he'll protect you. _

She had never been more grateful to have that little voice inside her head than she did now. She instantly felt comforted, and glanced at her boyfriend.

He was totally at ease. He had a laid-back smile on his face, although she did notice that he was blushing. He didn't seem to care that everyone was gaping at them and talking about them. He even seemed kind of…proud, maybe. Like he wanted to show off his girlfriend to the world. Which was partly true. He didn't mind the Gallagher High students knowing he had feelings for her.

Now, if his friends and classmates back in Australia knew….Well, he would just cross that bridge when he came to it.

And before Kuki knew it, she was outside her first class. "Well, Kooks," Wally said, letting go of her hand. "I guess I'll see you later then." Secretly, he didn't want her to go, but there was no way he was telling anybody that. Kuki didn't want him to go either, but was too embarrassed to admit it. She didn't want to seem clingy or anything.

"Okay, Wally, bye…" she said. Before she turned around he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, which she quickly noted was a first for them. He then gave her a one-armed hug, and whispered in her ear, "Don't be nervous. Everything's gonna be fine. Bye."

She smiled to herself, her heart warmed. Wally always knew what to say to make her feel better.

And she went into class, ready to face the looks and the gossiping.

Nobody was gonna bring her down, at least for today.

* * *

"I'm sorry, excuse me if I heard wrong," Brooke said, rubbing her temples. "Delilah, _what _exactly did you see?" Todd, Connor, and Jared were right there beside her, also wanting to hear what she had to say.

"Kuki and the Australian kid, what's his name….?"

"Wally," Connor answered her.

"Yeah! Kuki and Wally, they were holding hands! And blushing! I saw them! I think…..I think they're going out!"

Brooke laughed. "Oh please," she said, crossing her arms. "No one in their right mind would ever date Kuki Sanban, of all people. You sure you weren't just seeing things?"

"No! I saw, I really did! You gotta believe me, I wouldn't lie to you!" Delilah was desperate to get them to believe her.

Todd growled. "I believe you," he said, his deep voice filled with anger. "I believe that bastard would go out with anyone. He's obviously a desperate loser." His hand covered up his black eye.

"Obviously," Brooke agreed, angry as he was. She didn't know what she would do as soon as she saw Wally. She had fumed all weekend on how he had ruined her party. After the punk took Kuki and fled the scene, everyone else decided to follow suit. They decided that the party wasn't as fun anymore, and all went home, despite Brooke's attempts at trying to get them to stay. And after they left, she had to help Todd with his black eye, and then clean up the whole mess!

She was pretty sure she was going to eventually claw Wally's eyes out with her Pearly Pink manicured nails.

Speaking of which, Wally just happened to be around the corner, heading to his class. He had a good ten minutes left before the bell would ring, so he walked leisurely. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, and he was whistling a happy tune.

When the populars saw who it was, Brooke smiled evilly to herself. _Perfect timing._

She and her friends surrounded him in a line, blocking him from the rest of the hallway.

"Hello, Wally," Brooke said, her position front and center. Her voice was filled with venom. "How nice to run into you."

"Hey, Brooke," he greeted, his voice just as venomous as hers. He smirked when his eyes came across Todd. "Hey, nice shiner there, Todd. Who gave that to ya?"

Todd took a step forward, wanting to fight him then and there, but Brooke restrained him. "Now, now, Todd, you can fight him later. Outside of school grounds."

He growled, but took a step back. "You're lucky I'm not gonna kill you right now, Beetles," he seethed. "But you're in for it later."

Wally laughed. "Why wait?" he said, walking toward Todd. "Why don't we just have a go at it right now? I don't care if I'm kicked out of school. Or are you too afraid? You a chicken, Todd? Is that it?"

Todd got angrier and angrier, but Wally showed no fear, because he….well, he wasn't scared. In fact, he found it amusing, getting the guy angry. It was rather funny, that Todd thought he had a shot at taking him down.

He snickered at the thought. _Yeah, right. _

"Go on Todd, hit me," he prodded, getting even closer. "You know you want to. I can see it in your eyes. You want to beat me to a bloody pulp, don't you? Well, I got news for you buddy…..You're not winnin' this fight. I can take you down easy. You don't scare me. Not one bit."

This time it took all four of them to hold Todd down. He wanted to rip him to shreds. "You're asking for it, Beetles!" he said, trying to get them off of him. "I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"I would like to see you try," Wally challenged. That just encouraged Todd even more to get at him.

Brooke scowled. This was _not _how she wanted this to go. "ENOUGH!" she shouted, getting everyone to freeze.

"Todd, you will beat him up later, okay?" she told him, not wanting to say it again. The look on her face got him to stop and shut up, and everyone released him. Then she turned to look at Wally.

"And you….." she seethed, giving him the look of death. "I hope you're happy with yourself, Wally. You ruined my entire party.

"I ruined your party? Me?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "The last time I checked, torturing a poor girl until she's reduced to tears isn't something you do at a party, Brooke. You ruined your own party by messin' with Kuki. There was no way I was gonna let you hurt her like that. Not by a long shot."

"How did you even find out about the party?" she asked, furious. "You weren't supposed to know!"

"You can thank some of your drunk friends for that," he answered, smirking. "They told me everything, and I didn't even have to ask."

"Why did you even do it? Why in the world would anyone want to save Kuki Sanban? She's a loser, an outcast! Nobody likes her! What, did you just want to be a hero or something? Or are you just completely insane?!?"

"No, I wasn't trying to be a hero," Wally said, his voice suddenly calm and collected. "I'm not insane either. At least, I don't think I am."

"Then what is it?!? Why in the world would you save Kuki?!?!?"

He looked her straight in the eyes, and said in a strong, confident voice, "Because I love her."

All their faces went blank, and they tried to compute exactly what he just said.

"Because you……love her? You….love her? Is…..Is that what you just said?" Brooke asked, not believing her ears.

"That's exactly what I said."

"But…..But…..This is _Kuki _we're talking about! How can you possibly have feelings for…..for _her?_"

_And not me?!? _she thought in her head.

Wally snarled. "Maybe if someone actually took the time to try to get to know Kuki then you'd understand. Maybe then you'd learn just how awesome she is. Maybe then you'd know that she's got a heart made of gold, that she's got a ton of talents, that she's smart, and honest, and pure. Maybe then you'd realize just how great she really is."

"But the sad thing is, everyone is too stupid to realize this. And you know why? Because they all listen to you," he said, looking straight at Brooke. "You're the one that makes Kuki miserable. You're the one that makes her life a living hell." He clenched his fists. "Just because you happen to be pretty and popular, you get to decide who's cool and who's not. If it were up to me, Kuki would be the popular one, and not you!"

Her friends gasped. How could her talk to her like that? Did he know who she was? Nobody talked to Brooke Sanders like that!

But the queen of popularity was not fazed by this, oh no. "Well, listen here, you idiot," she said. "Kuki is never, ever going to be as popular and beautiful as me. No matter what you do, Wally, or no matter what you say, Kuki will always be the stupid loser that everybody hates. And there's nothing you can do about it."

Wally clenched his teeth. "She's not a stupid loser," he said. "She's anything but that. And no, I can't make people change their minds about what they think about her, no matter how wrong they are. But I can protect her from you…And that's exactly what I'm gonna do."

"I'm not afraid of you guys. Not in the slightest. And I'm not going to watch you torture Kuki when she doesn't deserve it. I'm gonna be there for her in any way I can, and I am always gonna be by her side. She's not alone now. She's got me. She'll always have me, no matter what. I'm not going to let you hurt her anymore. Not ever again."

Brooke laughed. "Oh please, do you really think you can stop us? Listen, Beetles, I can do whatever I want, when I want to. You can't stop me. Nobody can. I'll do whatever I want to with Kuki."

Wally felt the strongest form of hate for this girl. There's not even a word for how much he loathed her. If she were a guy, the janitors would already be mopping her up from the floors.

"Not with me around you won't," he said, his voice low and menacing. "You can count on that." He shoved his way past Connor and Jared. He was about to make his way to class when he decided to say one last thing.

"And by the way Brooke," he said, turning around to look at her. "Kuki is a thousand times prettier than you."

Everyone gasped, while Brooke stood, speechless for once. Wally then headed towards his class, smiling.

Victory was sweet.

* * *

The rest of the day had been weird for the young couple. People kept staring at them, and were gossiping about them the whole day. Wally scoffed at them, wondering if they had anything better to do with their lives than talk about others. Kuki would just look away and blush, and clutch Wally's hand.

The really awesome thing was that they didn't run into Brooke or the others at all. Wally didn't dare tell Kuki what had happened that morning. He figured she might freak out if she knew, so he kept it a secret. The rest of the day went smooth, despite all the gossip and staring. The day ended and Wally walked her home, and hugged her goodbye.

And now Wally was all alone, in his room, staring at the bright computer screen.

_C'mon, you can tell them, _Wally said, taking a deep breath. _They're your best mates. They aren't gonna think of you any differently. I mean, I'm still the same person, after all. I just have a girlfriend, that's all. Nothin' weird about that….right?_

He sighed. There was no way spilling the beans about Kuki was going to be easy. Heck, Chase and Matt might not even believe him. But he had to tell them. They knew everything about him, after all. And after he told them, he would definitely tell his parents. Hopefully, his friends would be able to give him advice on exactly how to do that. They had plenty of girlfriends in the past, so they were experienced.

He logged on to the computer and invited Chase and Matt into a chatroom. Wally was Tough_Guy, Chase was Hott_Rocker, and Matt was Sk8ter-boi.

_Tough_Guy has entered the chatroom._

_Hott_Rocker has entered the chatroom._

_Sk8ter-boi has entered the chatroom._

Sk8ter-boi: Well, well, look who decided to finally talk to us.

Hott_Rocker: Yeah, Wally? Where the heck have ya been? We haven't talked to you since the day you left! Why the silence, man? Don't you like us, man?

Tough_Guy: Sorry, mates. I've been busy. It's been…interesting, here in America. I didn't mean to leave you hanging.

Sk8ter-boi- We've been so lonely without you! T_T

Hott_Rocker: Yeah, man. Everybody at school has been asking us, "Have you spoken to Wally, yet? How's he doing? Does he like it there?" But we haven't been able to give them an answer because you were silent!

Sk8ter-boi: What do you have to say to that?!?!?

Tough_Guy: Hey, I said I was sorry! Like I said, it's been busy here! I got a lot to tell you guys…

Hott_Rocker: Well, I guess we can forgive you, can't we Matt?

Sk8ter-boi: *sighs* Well, I GUESS……

Tough_Guy: Thanks. I knew you wouldn't stay mad for long.

Hott_Rocker: So, what's been up, mate?

Sk8ter-boi: Yeah! What's it like up in the States?

Tough_Guy: Well, nobody remembered who I was….It's like I never even lived there in the first place.

Sk8ter-boi: That's a bummer!

Hott_Rocker: Yeah, we know you were wonderin' if anybody would remember you.

Tough_Guy: Well, I got over that. A lot of stuff has been happening, so I haven't really thought about it.

Hott_Rocker: What kind of stuff? You get into any fights yet?

Sk8ter-boi: Hah, yeah! You've probably fought a ton already, huh Wally?

Tough_Guy: Well, I punched a guy, but…I'll get to that later, okay? There's something else I gotta tell ya….

Sk8ter-boi: Hey, are there any hot chicks over there? I almost forgot to ask.

Hott_Rocker: Yeah! Are they hotter than Australian chicks?

Tough_Guy: Guys! You know I hate talkin' about this stuff! -_-!

Sk8ter-boi: Oh, c'mon Wally! Surely you must think SOME girls are hot!

Hott_Rocker: Yeah! I mean, c'mon, you're a guy! We like to look at pretty women! Just tell us! Are they hot?

Tough_Guy: They're no different from Australian girls! They're all the same! Same clothes, same makeup, same shallowness, same everything!

Hott_Rocker: Oh, Wally, you disappoint us. You just don't understand girls and their beautiful ways….

Sk8ter-boi: You just don't appreciate them. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Tough_Guy: Ugh…..-

Hott_Rocker: But never mind that. What's your school like? Make any friends yet?

Sk8ter-boi: Yeah, got any cool new friends? They aren't as cool as us, right? J

Tough_Guy: Uh, yeah, about that……I um…I have one friend…..

Wally started to get a little nervous. _Here we go, _he thought.

Hott_Rocker: One friend?

Sk8ter-boi: Why only one?

Tough_Guy: 'Cause I don't like anybody else. Everybody else is stupid and cruel and mean to my friend!

Sk8ter-boi: What do you mean?

Tough_Guy: Everybody picks on her! And she doesn't deserve it and

Matt interrupted him before he could finish.

Sk8ter-boi: Wait a second, wait a second. Did you just say HER?

Hott_Rocker: As in, a FEMALE?

Tough_Guy: Um…..Uh….

Hott_Rocker: Spit it out, boy!

Tough_Guy: ….Yes…My friend is a girl.

Sk8ter-boi: 0_o!

Hott_Rocker: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT??????

Tough_Guy: Her name is Kuki. Kuki Sanban.

Sk8ter-boi: What is that, Chinese?

Tough_Guy: Japanese.

Hott_Rocker: Ooh, she's FOREIGN!

Tough_Guy: She's lived in America for most of her life. She moved her when she was two. Anyway….

Sk8ter-boi: Is she hot?

Hott_Rocker: Is she sexy?

Tough_Guy: GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!! SHADDUP!!!!!!!!!

Hott_Rocker: What? We're curious!

Tough_Guy: She's….very attractive.

Sk8ter-boi: WOW! Wally just called a girl ATTRACTIVE!

Hott_Rocker: And he's FRIENDS with her!

Sk8ter-boi: What made you decide to be friends with a girl? Were you that lonely?

Tough_Guy: No! I just like her, that's all. And like I said, everybody else is stupid and mean. They're mean to her, and everything.

Sk8ter-boi: Why are they mean to her?

Tough_Guy: Because of Brooke, who's this evil, stupid girl who uses her popularity to always get her way. She's always mean to Kuki, so everybody else is mean to her! It's sick! The first day I met Kuki, Brooke's boyfriend, Todd, and his friends STOLE HER LUNCH! And they pick on her and hurt her and I hate it and I want to beat the crap out of them all!

Hott_Rocker: Whoa, calm down there, Wally.

Sk8ter-boi: Sounds like this Kuki has it rough.

Tough_Guy: She does. And it ain't fair. She's awesome. You know, she's really talented. She's an awesome artist, and you know what? At the arcade, she has like a top score on all the games! And she's just really cool!

Hott_Rocker: Matt, can you believe this? Wally thinks a girl is COOL!

Sk8ter-boi: I can't believe it either, Chase.

Hott_Rocker: What else is she like?

Tough_Guy: Well, she's got a heart of pure gold. I mean, she is seriously the nicest girl I've ever met. She doesn't have a mean bone in her entire body. And she's really shy, and not very good around people. And she has a low self-confidence, because everybody is so mean to her. But….She's honest, cool, talented, a lot of fun to be around…..You guys would like her a lot.

Sk8ter-boi: She sounds cool to me. I wouldn't make fun of her.

Hott_Rocker: Yeah, me neither. She sounds pretty cool.

Tough_Guy: She really is…and…Well, this is really gonna be hard to tell you guys but…..The thing is….Kuki's not just my friend….

Sk8ter-boi: ……..What?

Hott_Rocker: …….Excuse me?

Tough_Guy: She's my girlfriend.

Wally took a deep breath, and waited for a response. They didn't respond for three minutes, and for a second Wally thought he lost them. But then they finally said something.

Sk8ter-boi: Oh my gosh…..

Hott_Rocker: I can't believe this…..

Sk8ter-boi: Is this a joke, Wally?

Hott_Rocker: Are you messin' with us!

Tough_Guy: No! I mean it! She's my girlfriend!

Hott_Rocker: Oh my gosh, Matt, do you know what this means?!?!?

Sk8ter-boi: Yes I do! SHE'S THE CHOSEN ONE!

Tough_Guy: What?!?!?

Hott_Rocker: The Chosen One! Legend has it that a special girl somewhere in the world, has the right amount of charm and grace to win the heart of the most unloving person in the world. That unloving person is you, Wally!

Sk8ter-boi: I didn't think this would ever happen!

Hott_Rocker: Neither did I! I didn't think the Chosen One existed!

Sk8ter-boi: Same here!

Tough_Guy: Hey, you guys are actin' as if I'm incapable of loving anyone. -_-!

Hott_Rocker: Well, you can't blame us, Wally. You've never really shown an interest in girls.

Sk8ter-boi: Until now. How do you feel about her?

Tough_Guy: Excuse me?

Sk8ter-boi: How do you feel about her? Is she just a crush? Does she give you butterflies? Do you love her?

Wally gulped, and blushed a deep crimson. He was so glad Chase and Matt couldn't see him now. He probably looked like a tomato.

Tough_Guy: I…..Well…I….I love her.

Sk8ter-boi: What?!?!?

Hott_Rocker: Whoa! You DO?

Tough_Guy: Yeah, is that so weird?

Sk8ter-boi: Yes! Yes, that is weird!

Hott_Rocker: Our Wally, in love! I didn't think it was possible!

Sk8ter-boi: This Kuki must be really something!

Hott_Rocker: Yeah, you're gonna have to send us a picture!

Tough_Guy: I will, I promise. And please please please don't tell anybody back at school. I don't want many people to know. It's bad enough everybody at my school knows. I haven't even told my parents yet.

Sk8ter-boi: You haven't?

Hott_Rocker: Oh, you'd better tell em' soon, Wally, before they find out themselves. 'Cause if that happens, they'll wonder why you kept it a secret.

Tough_Guy: I will, but how? How do you tell your parents you have a girlfriend?

Sk8ter-boi: Well, that depends. Do you think they'll like her?

Hott_Rocker: Yeah, Kuki sounds pretty safe…Shy, sweet, artsy….I don't think you have much to worry about.

Tough_Guy: You think?

Sk8ter-boi: Yeah, Chase has a point. Now, if Kuki rode a motorcycle and did drugs you might have a problem, but you're probably good. Just tell them, I'm sure they'll be thrilled.

Tough_Guy: Really?

Hott_Rocker: Sure. Hey, I gotta go soon, but you'd better get back on here! I wanna hear more about this special lady of yours!

Sk8ter-boi: Yeah, I gotta go too. But I wanna hear more too! You get back to us as soon as you can, alright?

Tough_Guy: Alright, I promise. See you guys later.

Sk8ter-boi: Bye! Good luck with your sexy lady friend! ;)

Hott_Rocker: Talk to ya later, you smooth operator, you!

_Sk8ter-boi has left the chatroom._

_Hott_Rocker has left the chatroom._

Wally hung his head back and sighed. _Well, that didn't go as bad as I thought, _he thought, suddenly tired. _I guess all I gotta do now is tell my parents…._

He got off the computer and dragged himself to his bed, and laid there, thinking. He thought about Chase and Matt, about telling his parents about the news, and of course, he thought about Kuki. He wondered what she was doing at the moment, and if she was asleep yet. His eyes drifted to the pictures that the two of them took at the arcade and found himself smiling.

_Well, Kuki, apparently you're the Chosen One, _he thought, and chuckled to himself. _The Chosen One….What a ridiculous thing to call her…._

He got into the covers, with one last thought on his mind.

_Well, Kuki, out of all the girls who could've been the Chosen One, I'm glad it's you._

And with that, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Wow, chat speak is really easy to write! It was fun, too! Thanks to all the Panda Warriors for reading part of the chapter! I really appreciated your thoughts! You guys rock! I hope you guys liked the chapter, and like the chatroom part! I've never written anything like that, so I'm kinda nervous about it! Hope you liked it!**


	15. Dinner with the Beetles

**Here's chapter 15, fresh off my laptop! Enjoy! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I forgot to do this in some of my other chapters. Whoops. Anyways, I don't own nothin'! And that's all I got to say.**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 15

Dinner with the Beetles

Wally got up especially early on Tuesday, because he finally convinced himself that he could wait no longer. The sooner he told his parents about Kuki, the better. He had no idea how they would react, and that made him nervous. But really, what was the worse that could happen? And he just knew they would approve of Kuki once they met her. She was the perfect girlfriend. Nothing could go wrong.

He quickly dressed and got himself ready for breakfast, and made his way hastily down the stairs. Joey was in bed, which was just fantastic. He didn't need his kid brother knowing what was going on in his love life.

"My, my, you're up early, Wallabee!" Mrs. Beetles said, sitting down with her coffee. "Why aren't you in bed? I usually have to drag you out of there to get you ready for school!"

"Yeah, it's very strange of you son," Mr. Beetles said, holding the newspaper. "What is it with you lately? You seem so weird."

Wally laughed and rubbed the back of his head, blushing. "Well, I have an explanation for that," he said. "Things have been really different lately. But in a good way. I have something to tell you."

"Something to tell us?" asked Mrs. Beetles. "Well, it must be really important if it gets you up this early in the morning. What is it?"

"Well….Where do I start?" he muttered, almost to himself. He took a seat at the table. He noticed that he had his parents' full attention. They were staring at him, curiosity in their faces.

"Well, as you know," he began, drumming his fingers against the table. "I have a….friend…named Kuki."

"Oh, yeah, your mother was just telling me about her!" Mr. Beetles exclaimed. "I think it's great that you've finally gotten over your hate for girls. It was really unattractive, you know, Wallabee. After all, you can't hate the opposite sex for no reason whatsoever. It would've given you a lot of problems in the future…."

"I never _hated _them," he clarified, giving his father a look. "I just wasn't _interested _in any of them…"

"More like you never gave em' a chance, sport. Now I remember that one girl, Chloe was it? Now she was charming."

"Oh, Chloe! Yes, Wally, she was such a lovely girl! But you never even gave her a second glance!" his mother said. "She would come by and ask where you were…."

Wally scowled. "Chloe? Mom, Dad….She was the most annoying girl I've ever met! She never left me alone! I'd have to practically _hide _from her whenever she came around! You know how many valentines she's given me over the years? Too many! I was never interested in her, and I never will! She was just like all the other girls at that cruddy school! Shallow and annoying!"

"Now, Wally, calm down," his father interjected. "She wasn't that bad…."

He gave him a blank stare. "Dad, she wrote a poem about me and read it out loud to the whole class. You know how humiliating that was?"

His parents froze. "Well, I suppose that might've been a _little _out of hand," his mother said. "Um, anyway, what is it you wanted to tell us, son? Something about Kuki?"

"Huh? Oh yeah…." Wally said, remembering what he got up early for. "Well…The thing is….I…um….Well…." _Ugh, why is this so hard? _he thought, frustrated.

"Come on son, you can tell us what it is," Mr. Beetles said, smiling.

"Okay, I'll tell ya, but don't be too surprised, okay? It ain't that big of a deal," he said. "I'm just….kinda making it a big deal."

"Wally, you'd better tell us before you run out of time," Mrs. Beetles said, pointing to the clock. "Don't take an hour now."

He laughed. "Yeah, ha ha. Okay…." He took a deep breath. "The thing is…..Kuki and I….we're kinda not friends anymore….."

"Oh, Wally, I'm so sorry!" his mother exclaimed. "I remember you telling me how much you liked her…."

"Wait a second, Mum, I'm not finished yet," he said. "Because it turns out….Well, we kinda wanted to be _more _than friends…."

His parents blinked, and were silent. Wally wasn't sure if they got the picture.

"And when I mean we wanted to be more than friends, I mean we had feelings for one another," he clarified, trying to get them to understand. "So….Kuki is…You know…My girlfriend."

Mr. Beetles dropped the newspaper.

Mrs. Beetles almost dropped her coffee cup.

"Dear…" Mr. Beetles said, looking at his wife. "Did our son just say….?"

"Yes, I believe he did…" she replied, looking at Wally.

He blushed. "Uh…So, what do ya think?" he asked, smiling pathetically.

A large smile slowly grew onto Mrs. Beetles face. "I knew it…" she said, quietly. "I knew it! Wally, don't you ever lie to me like that again! You said you didn't like her that way! Ha, you can't fool me, Wallabee Beetles! A mother knows everything! Oh, this is so exciting! My little boy, in love for the first time!"

"I gotta say sport, it's about time!" Mr. Beetles said, clapping a hand onto Wally's shoulder. "And here I was afraid you would grow up to be a lonely old man who told kids to get off his lawn!"

"Dad! C'mon, it's not that surprising! What is it with people thinking I was never gonna like a girl?" he said, frustrated.

"Well, sport, can you blame us? You never really showed any interest in girls, until now! And I'm down right excited! I want to meet this girl!" his father exclaimed. "Honey, what do you think? Should we invite her to dinner?"

"Oh, we must!" his mother said excitedly, clapping her hands together. "I think we should invite her as soon as possible! Wallabee, do you think it's possible she can come tonight?" she asked eagerly.

Wally was taken aback. "You wanna meet her that quickly?"

"Of course we do!" Mr. Beetles said.

"Do you think she can come?" Mrs. Beetles asked. She was practically bouncing up and down on her feet.

"Well, I guess…I mean, I can ask her…."

"Oh, I'm so excited!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I'll have to make my best dish! Maybe my special chicken, with cheese and bacon on it! Do you think she'll like it?"

Wally smiled. "That's your best dish Mum, I'm sure she'll love it."

"Yes! Of course!" she exclaimed. "Alright, then that's what I'll make! And I'll have to make some side dishes….Maybe potatoes, or macaroni….or both! Oh, and I'll have to clean up the house very nicely! It'll be in tip top shape by the time she gets here! Oh, and I'll even use our _fancy silverware_! Oh, I'm so excited! I'd better get started right away, if I want this house sparkling! I think I might even sweep the porch!" She walked off, already thinking of the list of things she was going to do to get everything ready for Kuki.

Wally rolled his eyes, smiling. Of course his mother would get excited over something like this….

"Well, sport, you'd better get your stuff together and get goin'," Mr. Beetles said, pointing to his watch. "Don't want to be late now, do ya?"

"Oh, yeah, right!" Wally exclaimed, jumping on his feet. "Alright then! I'll ask Kuki if she can come, and I'll let you know as soon as I get home! See ya!" He picked up his book bag.

"Bye son!"

And he scampered off to Kuki's house, ready to tell her the news.

* * *

Much to Wally's relief, it was Kuki who answered the door when he arrived at her house, instead of Mushi. He was glad. He didn't really like her younger sister at all, and didn't want to get angry at her. He needed to stay on her family's good side.

That is, if her family _had _a good side.

"Hi Wally!" she greeted him, opening up the door. "You're just in time, I was just about to head out," she said, shouldering her book bag. "How are you?"

He smiled and took her hand, and they went to the sidewalk. "I'm fine, how about you?"

"Well, I'm okay, but Mushi wasn't in a very good mood this morning," she said. "It's really hard to please her when she's like that. She won't eat any breakfast, and I have to pretty much force her out of bed to get ready for school. She'll probably be in a bad mood for the rest of the day. It's best if I just avoid her for the rest of the day…"

"Is she in a bad mood a lot?" he asked, certain he already knew the answer.

"Yeah….Do you think we can do something together after school?" she asked a little shyly. "Like I said, Mushi is going to want to be alone…And I don't really want to be by myself…."

He smiled. "Actually, that's perfect. You see….This morning, I told my parents about you…."

"You did?" she looked surprised.

"Yeah, and I told em' how we're…you know….a couple."

"Oh, really?" She suddenly became nervous, and blushed. "W-What did they say?"

"They couldn't be more thrilled," he admitted, grinning even more. "You see, they never thought this would happen to me. They thought I'd never find a girl that I would actually like. Truth is, before I moved here, _I _thought I'd never meet a girl I would like. So we're both kinda surprised."

"I think we're _all _surprised at what's happened this past week…" she murmured, smiling to herself happily.

He laughed. "Yeah, that's true. Anyways….My parents…They want to meet you."

Her eyes popped open. "T-They want to meet me? When? Why?" She wasn't expecting this. I mean, she knew she would have to meet them sometime, but for it to happen so _quickly…_

"They wanna see what kinda girl I'm hanging around with," he answered. "And well….They were wondering if you could come for dinner…Tonight."

"To-To-Tonight?" she squeaked. "This early? Already?"

"They _really really really _want to meet you."

Kuki's heart started beating a mile a minute. _Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…._

"Kuki? You okay?" he asked, nudging her. "What's wrong?"

"What if they don't like me?" she blurted out, fully freaking out. "What if they don't approve of me? What if they want you to break up with me? Oh gosh, I'm not ready for this!" She started breathing really hard.

And out of all the things for Wally to do, he laughed.

"Kuki, you're worryin' about nothing!" he assured her, resting his hand on her shoulder. "My parents are going to love you! You're like, the perfect girlfriend. You're smart, talented, sweet…My parents will go ballistic! You know, you worry _way _too much…"

"You….You really think they'll like me?" she asked, calming down.

"I don't think, I _know. _And man, you should've seen my mother this morning!" he said. "She was so excited, she was practically jumping off the walls. She's gonna make her best dish, and clean the house, and everything. So you're not the only one that's trying to impress someone."

"Why would they want to impress me?" she asked curiously. "I'm sure I'll like them."

"Because they want to be liked just as much as you do," he answered. "And they want to make sure you stick around for a long time. They really don't want me growing up alone, so they probably figure if you like the whole Beetles family, you'll go out with me longer."

Kuki blushed, and took Wally's hand. "I'll go out with you as long as they'd like," she said, smiling. Wally smiled back, and squeezed her hand.

"That's exactly what they're hopin' for," he said.

* * *

"Honey, I want you to go scrub the toilets, now!" Mrs. Beetles ordered her husband, handing him a toilet wand. "I want this place sparkling clean for Kuki! And the bathrooms must be clean especially! They must be so clean that you can eat off of the floors there!"

Mr. Beetles frowned, and took the wand. "Sweetie, aren't you taking this a little too far? I mean, it's only one little dinner…"

"Don't you want grandchildren?!?!?" she asked, slightly angry. "Honey, this is a once in a lifetime chance! If Wally and Kuki don't work out, who knows how long it'll be before our son finds another girl? You know how picky he is! We need to impress this girl! We need to make her feel right at home! She needs to feel as if she's part of the family! The more she likes us, the better! We're not talking about some random girl that Wally is just dating for fun! We're talking about a possible daughter-in-law! And by golly, I'm going to have one! And they'll get married, have children, and we'll be one big happy family! And you're going to help me make that happen!"

Mr. Beetles just stared at her, toilet wand in hand. "And this all relies on if the house is sparkling clean or not?" he asked.

"That, and more!" she answered, getting out more cleaning supplies. "Don't forget, we also have to be on our best behavior, and look our best too! Have you shaven lately?"

"I shaved yesterday…"

"Good! And before she comes, you'll need to take a shower, and put on your best clothes! So will I. And Joey…We'll really need to make sure he behaves. I'll need to take him to get a haircut…Oh, there's just so much I need to do before she gets here…"

"I'll take Joey to get a haircut if you want…"

"Excellent! Thanks so much, love," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "We're going to make this girl want to stay with us _forever_! Ha, they'll have _so _many grandchildren…" She grew excited at the thought.

Mr. Beetles tried very hard not to laugh. He loved his wife, but she was so funny at times, especially when she got excited. He patted her on the back. "I'm sure they will, honey. I'll go scrub the toilets now."

"Good, and after that you can help me mop the floors! And then we'll do the dishes, and polish the furniture, and clean the windows…."

Mr. Beetles sighed. _It's going to be a long day….._

_

* * *

_

If only Kuki knew just how important her arrival at the Beetles home was. If she did, then maybe she wouldn't be so nervous.

School was over, and thankfully she and Wally didn't run into Brooke and the others again. She didn't know if they were avoiding her or if it was just a stroke of luck, but she hoped it would continue.

It was a very pleasant day. Wally and Kuki had a lot of classes together that day, and if they were just listening to a lecture, Wally would inconspicuously hold Kuki's hand under the desks. Sure, it made it harder to listen to the teacher, but it was wonderful nonetheless.

Now Kuki was once again stuck with a clothing problem, just like she had the night of the party. She was scanning through her closet, trying to find something that was nice and parent-approved.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mushi asked, standing at Kuki's doorway. "You actually gonna change the way you dress for a once?"

Kuki gasped. "Mushi, you shouldn't talk like that…You're only twelve…" she said quietly.

"I'll talk any way I want to, sis!" she snapped. "It's none of your business! Now, answer my question! What the _hell _are you doing?"

Kuki sighed. It was useless, trying to talk to Mushi when she was in a bad mood. Of course, it was always difficult to talk to her, but especially when she was angry.

"I'm trying to figure out what to wear," she answered, pushing some clothes aside in her closet. "I'm having dinner at Wally's house tonight, and…."

"Oh, I see. You're going out to have a nice dinner while I stay here and order takeout, right?" she said in a nasty tone.

"Oh, Mushi, I'm sorry! It's just that Wally's parents want to meet me tonight, and I don't want to disappoint them! And it seemed rude to say no. I promise I'll make you a nice dinner tomorrow, I will. Whatever you want!"

Mushi huffed. "Fine, whatever. What are you going to wear?"

Kuki glanced back at her closet. "Oh, I don't know," she answered hopelessly. "I really want his parents to like me, but I just don't know what kind of clothes will impress them…."

Mushi sighed. "Step aside," she grunted, pushing Kuki away. "Let's see what we have here, and maybe we can find something that will make you look like less of a loser. I swear, you are so _helpless _sometimes!"

She was speechless. _Is Mushi actually…helping me? _she thought, not believing her eyes. _Is she sick?_

"Let's see…." the twelve-year old said, flipping through her sister's clothes. "What the….? That's a stupid shirt….What kind of pants are _those? _Are you _blind? _I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that….That shirt's not too bad…Hmm…."

Kuki just stood patiently, watching Mushi go through her stuff. Sometimes she would take something out, consider it, but then change her mind and throw it on the floor. A pile of clothes were slowly growing on the ground.

"Now what do we have here…?" Mushi said, reaching towards the back and taking out a shirt. It was a blue kimono top, with flowers going down the side. "That's nice….That's _very _nice…." she said. "Yes…I like that…I wouldn't wear it, but for someone like you, Kuki….Here…" She threw the top into Kuki's arms.

"Now about the pants….These would work…" she said, taking out some simple white pants. "Yeah…And with black sandals, you would look pretty nice…." She reached towards the bottom of the closet and pulled out some black sandals. "There," she said. "Go put those on. I want to see what you look like."

Kuki just stood there frozen, unsure of what to do. She was still having a hard time believing her sister was actually helping her.

"Well, what're you standing there for?" Mushi asked, furrowing her brows. "C'mon, go to the bathroom and try it on! You don't have all day! What time do you have to be there?"

"Six o' clock…." she said, staring at her.

"Well, it's 5:30 now! Go on, get dressed! Sheesh, can't you tell time? How stupid are you? Go!" She pushed her out the door and into the bathroom. "Come back out and then let me look at ya!"

Kuki quickly put on the clothes, a warm happy feeling suddenly coming over her. _Mushi's helping me get ready! _she thought gleefully. _She's being nice to me! Oh, this is so wonderful! I can't believe this!_

Once she had on the clothes and the sandals she stepped out, and Mushi was standing in the hallway waiting for her.

"Yeah, that's good…." she said, looking at her sister up and down. "Not too fancy, not too casual. I mean, you're no Brooke Sanders, but you don't look ugly. That's a start."

It was kind of like a compliment, and it was good enough to make Kuki smile. "Thank you Mushi…" she said sweetly, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you so much!" She couldn't help it but wrap her arms around her and give her a big hug.

"What? Get off me!" Mushi exclaimed, pushing her off. "Geeze, I help you once and now you act as if we're best friends! I still don't like you, just to let you know."

Kuki kept smiling anyway. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" she asked. "I'm so grateful, so I'll do anything."

Mushi stared at her, and smiled. "Spaghetti," she said, crossing her arms. "I want you to make me spaghetti tomorrow. With meatballs. Lots and lots of meatballs."

"Of course!" Kuki said. "I'd be happy to make that for you!"

"And vanilla cupcakes, with chocolate icing. With sprinkles on top."

"I can do that," she said. "That'll be fine."

"And I want Sandy to come for dinner, just me and him. I don't want you there."

Kuki frowned. "Oh….Uh…..You want to eat dinner with him….alone?"

"Yes, it'll be like a date," she said. "You make us dinner, and then you leave the house."

"Well….okay…I guess I can have my dinner with Wally, if he can," Kuki said. "Alright, that's fine. Have Sandy come by tomorrow around five, and I'll make you dinner. Is that okay?"

"Perfect," she said, smirking. "See ya later, sis. I'm headin' out."

"Okay…."

She sighed. _Well, at least it's a start…._she thought, trying to brighten herself up. Her relationship with Mushi was still very poor, but tonight was still a major turnaround. _And who knows? Maybe things will get better…_ She could only hope.

And now she had to make dinner for her and Sandy. Kuki didn't care for Sandy much. He was rude, and was a bad influence on Mushi. He always insulted Kuki, calling her an 'ugly grandma," but she was so used to being called names it didn't really bother her. It was a lot better than some of the other names people called her. But Kuki was always nice to Sandy. She saw how much Mushi liked him. Sometimes she would catch her little sister staring at Sandy with big goo-goo eyes.

_She probably loves Sandy like I love Wally….Speaking of Wally…_ She looked at the clock. 5:40. Yikes, she had to get going!

She curled and brushed her hair. When she was finally satisfied, she went down the stairs, and onto the sidewalk. She was still as nervous as ever, but she was ready. Hopefully Wally's family would like her. If they did, then everything would be ok. She could date Wally without worrying whether his parents approved of it or not.

She took a deep breath, and walked towards Wally's house, hoping everything would work out okay.

* * *

Wally brushed his hair very carefully, making sure there wasn't a hair out of place. If something was wrong with his appearance, his mother would surely scold him. She was going absolutely crazy, making sure every corner of the house was spick and span, not a spot anywhere. She made sure everyone was looking their best, and lectured them on how to properly behave themselves.

"No goofing around!" she had said to them, standing before Mr. Beetles, Wally, and Joey, who were sitting on the couch. "No funny business, you hear me? You have to be absolute gentleman! We don't want to make Kuki uncomfortable. Just be nice, polite, and don't act stupid, and everything will be alright."

Mrs. Beetles really had outdone herself. The house was practically sparkling, and all the food was ready for consumption. She even had a cake baking in the oven for dessert. Everything was going according to plan.

Wally thought his mom was taking it way too seriously, but he knew there was nothing he could do to stop her. When his mom had her mind set on something, you could not convince her to do anything else but that, and in the way she wanted to do it. There was nothing he could do.

Wally was wearing an orange button-down shirt and brown slacks. He had scrubbed himself clean when he came home, and he thought he looked fairly good.

_I look downright handsome, _he thought, staring at himself in front of the mirror. He hoped Kuki would think the same thing, although he would never have admitted it.

"Wally! Are you ready yet?!?!? She'll be here any minute!" Mrs. Beetles called from down the stairs.

"Yes, Mum!" he yelled, making his way down. "I'm right here. How do I look?"

She looked at him up and down. "Yes, you look fine. You look like a proper boyfriend," she said.

"Uh…Thanks?"

Mrs. Beetles herself was wearing a red skirt with a white blouse, and the rest of the family looked equally nice. The other boys were wearing button-down shirts as well, only Mr. Beetles' was white, and Joey's blue.

"Alright, everything is done," Mrs. Beetles said, surveying the dining room. "The food is done, the house is clean, everybody looks nice….Now we just have to wait for…."

_Ding dong!_

Wally's mother gasped. "She's here!" she said excitedly. "Wallabee, answer the door! Quickly son, don't keep her waiting!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" he said, leaving the room to answer the door.

"Hey Kuki," he said, opening the door for her. He looked at her and smiled. "Wow, you look really nice tonight, Kooks."

She blushed and smiled. "Thanks, Wally…" she said shyly. "You look very handsome."

Now it was his turn to blush. "Thanks! I actually brushed my hair today. Come on in."

Kuki stepped inside, and took a look around. She never had a real good look inside of Wally's house. "Wow," she said. "Your house is really nice. And it's so clean!"

He chuckled. "Yeah, my mum cleaned the house today."

"It's beautiful," she said, looking around.

"Thanks. Come on over to the dining room and you can meet my family."

Kuki took a small gulp. "Okay," she said.

Wally hooked his arm around hers. "Don't be nervous," he said quietly to her. "They're gonna love ya."

She smiled, and followed him into the dining room.

"Mum, Dad," Wally said, stepping into the room. "This is Kuki. Kuki, this is my mum, my dad, and my little brother Joey."

"Hello dear!" Mrs. Beetles said, rushing up to her. "How nice it is to meet you! Wally has told us so much about you!"

"He…He has?" she asked.

"Why yes! All good things, I assure you!"

"Wallabee, you didn't tell me how lovely your little girlfriend was!" Mr. Beetles said, coming up to her. "Hello Kuki!" He shook her hand.

She blushed red. "Oh, why…Th-Thank you!" she said, shaking his hand back. "It's very nice to meet you too, Mr. Beetles!"

"And I'm Joey!" said Wally's little brother, making himself known. "I'm six!"

Kuki smiled and got on her knees. "Hello Joey!" she said. She had a huge soft spot for children.

"Are you Wally's girlfriend?"

She was taken aback by his blunt question, and she laughed. "Yes, I am. And your Wally's little brother?"

"Yep! You know, I got a girlfriend too. Actually, I have five!" He held up five fingers just to show her.

She laughed again. "Do you?" she said. "Well, you're a very handsome little boy!"

"Yes I am!" he exclaimed. "Nice to meet you, Cookie!"

"It's Kuki, dear," Mrs. Beetles corrected him.

"Oh, sorry! Kuki, I mean," he said, correcting himself. Kuki smiled. "That's okay, sweetie," she said.

"Wally, she's real nice and pretty," he whispered to him. "I like her a lot!"

Wally grinned and gently ruffled his brother's hair without messing it up. "I knew you would, buddy."

"Well, why don't we all sit down and eat , shall we?" Mrs. Beetles said. "All the food is prepared, and ready to eat!"

Wally pulled out a chair for Kuki to sit down in. "Here you go, Kooks," he said.

"Thank you Wally." She sat down, and Wally sat beside her. Across from them was Mr. Beetles and Joey, and Mrs. Beetles at the end.

"Wow, the food looks good…" Kuki said, staring at the many dishes sitting in the middle of the table.

"Why, thank you dear! Help yourself to anything you want!" Mrs. Beetles said. Soon everybody was passing the food around, and once everybody had what they wanted, they started eating.

The food was delicious. Kuki absolutely loved it. It was very rare that she got to enjoy a home cooked meal. She ate it in large bites, and was pretty sure she would have seconds. Mrs. Beetles was delighted to see her enjoying the food so much.

"I'm so glad you like my food, dear!" she said. "I was hoping you would. I made my best dishes."

Kuki stopped eating to reply. "Oh, it's just wonderful! I hardly ever get to eat something homemade, so it's very nice!"

"Oh, you eat out a lot dear?"

Kuki nodded. "My parents don't really cook a lot, so yes. But it's not their fault!" she quickly said, so they didn't get the wrong impression. "They work a lot, so they really don't have time for cooking." _Or anything else, really._

"Oh, what do your parents do?" Mr. Beetles asked after taking a bite of potato.

"They work for McAllister Incorporated."

"Really? That's where I work! What's your last name, Kuki? Maybe I know them!" Mr. Beetles grinned. If he knew her parents that would be even more excellent!"

"Sanban."

His eyes grew large. "Sanban?" he said. "Wait…Are your parents Kani and Gengki Sanban?"

Kuki wasn't sure of his reaction, and it made her a little nervous. "Y-Yes…" she said, gulping.

"Honey, did you hear that!" Mr. Beetles said, placing his hand on his wife's shoulder. "She's the daughter of the top workers of the company! I can't believe it!" He was grinning. "You must be very proud, Kuki. Everybody at the company admires them."

She smiled half-heartedly. "Oh, y-yes, I'm…very proud," she said. And she _was _proud of them. But sometimes she couldn't help but wish they were a little less….focused. But there was no way she was going to say that to Wally's family.

"Well then, it's good to know your parents are good people!" Mrs. Beetles said. "Do you plan on following their footsteps, Kuki?"

This conversation just kept getting more and more akward for her. She glanced at Wally, who could tell she was having a hard time. He gave her a reassuring smile and patted her knee under the table. She smiled back at him. _I can do this, _she thought, looking at him. _I have to. For Wally. _

"N-No…I don't plan on following their footsteps. I mean, I appreciate what my parents do," she said in a shy voice. "I really do…But I don't think I'd do well in a company…"

"Well, what would you like to do, then?" Mr. Beetles asked.

"Oh…Well…I'm not sure….I think…I think I'd like to be a nurse…"

Wally then thought of the dream he had long ago, the one where Kuki treated him in the hospital, and grinned. He wasn't surprised from her answer.

Wally's father grinned. "Well that's certainly an admirable occupation. I'm sure you'll make a fine nurse."

"I-I hope so, sir…"

"You know, speaking of nurses, one of my co-workers got an operation the other day. You know, he injured himself in the office. It was kind of funny, actually…."

Then Mr. Beetles got into a long, boring story from his work. Wally and Joey just completely ignored him, and continued with her food. The mother listened with all ears, laughing and appreciating the story, while Kuki listened out of politeness.

"Oh, dear, the things that happen to you in the office are always so funny!" she said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Well, funny things oughta happen in the workplace! I love being a pencil pusher, but I could always use a good laugh! Joey, sport, you got a little cheese on your chin there…" He took a napkin and wiped off his chin.

"Dad, I can get it!"

"I know you can, I'm just helping you. There, it's all gone now…"

"Wally, would you like more macoroni?" his mother asked him.

"Yeah, that'd be great! Gimme a lot, Mum."

"Well of course, you're always so hungry. You're like a garbage disposal…"

"Mum!"

"What? It's the truth!"

"Well, you don't need to say it in front of Kuki!"

"Well it's better than showing her your baby pictures, isn't it?"

"Oh, crud, yes…"

Kuki watched Wally's family eat their dinner. They talked to each other in such a warm and friendly way! They always smiled at each other and laughed together, and you could tell that the family was close. It gave Kuki a warm feeling.

_This is the way families are supposed to be, _she thought, smiling to herself. _Talking, laughing, looking out for one another….They even tease each other in a friendly way! _She noticed there was just an air of warmth and comfort in the room._ If only…. _She felt a pang of sadness. _If only my family were that way…We don't even _act _like a family….._

"Hey, Joey, you get into any trouble at school lately?" Wally asked his brother teasingly. "Get into any fights? Any brawls? Any girls fightin' over ya?"

"Wally!" his mother said, swatting at him. "Don't give him ideas!"

"What, it's a simple question!"

Joey laughed. "I don't fight, Wally!" he said. "And I already told you, I have a bunch of girlfriends!"

He laughed. "My brother, the smooth operator," he muttered, shaking his head.

_Wally and Joey are so close….._ Kuki had few memories of her childhood, but she remembered how close she and Mushi used to be. She sighed again.

_I should stop feeling sorry for myself, _she thought. _Not all families can be like the Beetles. It's just the way things are. I'm just lucky enough to have Wally… _She glanced at him, and her heart jumped like it usually did when she looked at him. She immediately brightened up.

She loved Wally, and she loved his family. They made her feel so welcome, and they were so kind! She thought of them as like the perfect family. She hoped she would get to see them more in the future.

She just hoped they liked her as much as she liked them.

They ate the rest of their dinner, still having lively chats about the days events. They tried to include Kuki in as much as the conversation as possible, which she greatly appreciated. She enjoyed talking to them, and her nervousness gradually went away, along with the food on her plate. She barely had room for the cake at the end, but she ate it anyway, and it was delicious.

When they were done, Kuki offered to help Mrs. Beetles with the dishes, but Wally's mother refused. "You're our guest," she said. "Don't you worry about it dear! I'll just have the boys do it!"

They groaned, but refused when Kuki offered to help them. "Don't worry, Kooks," Wally said. "We got it covered."

"Yeah Kooks, we got it!" Joey added, using the nickname.

And then it was time to go. "Thank you so much for inviting me. I had a great time," Kuki said very sweetly, shaking both Mr. and Mrs. Beetles' hands.

"Oh, Kuki, it was such a delight meeting you!" Mrs. Beetles said, hugging her, surprising Kuki. "You don't know how happy I am to know that Wally is dating a girl like you! You're a dream come true, dear!"

"Yeah, you're the kind of gal that can take care of our disaster of a son," Mr. Beetles said teasingly, with Wally right beside him. He rolled his eyes. "And Kuki, you can come visit us anytime you want," Wally's dad added.

"Oh yes, definitely!" the mother said cheerfully. "We would just love to have you over here again soon, dear! Just let us know when you're available!"

Kuki was practically beaming. _They like me! _she thought excitedly. "I will, thank you!" she said. "And you all are such a wonderful family! I'm so happy to meet you all!"

They all grinned. "We are too, dear!" Mrs. Beetles added. "Wally, we assume you will escort Kuki home?"

"You bet!" Wally said, taking Kuki's hand. "Let's go, Kooks!"

"Okay. Thanks again!" she said, following Wally out the door.

"Bye!" they said. "Come back soon!" Joey added, waving.

"I will!"

And then they were out the door.

"She's great!" Joey said. "I hope she comes and plays with me sometime!"

"She really is wonderful," Mr. Beetles said. "I'm so happy to know that that's the type of girl Wally is with. At first, I had no idea what kind of girl Wally would bring home, if he brought one at all."

"I absolutely love her!" Mrs. Beetles exclaimed. "She's perfect! Their children will be BEAUTIFUL!"

Mr. Beetles stared at her. "Uh, honey, aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself, there?"

"No!" she exclaimed happily. "Did you see the way they looked at each other? They're deeply in love! Oh, this is wonderful! And Kuki liked us! That means she'll _have _to stay! I'm so happy! I can just hear the wedding bells!" She was practically skipping on her feet on her way to the kitchen. "I'm going to have a wonderful daughter-in-law! Oh, and there'll be a wedding, and a baby shower, and then children, and…." She drifted off into the kitchen, to clean up.

Joey looked up at his father. "Is Mummy okay, Daddy?" he asked, confused by his mother's happiness. Mr. Beetles just shook his head and laughed.

"Yes son. She's just planning Wally's future for him," he said, patting his son on the shoulder.

"Is she gonna plan my future?"

"Probably, son. Probably."

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It was a beautiful night, with stars shining like diamonds in the sky, surrounding the large full moon. Kuki couldn't help but admire it.

_Everything went perfect tonight, _she thought, grinning from ear to ear. _The Beetles like me, so I don't have to worry about a thing. _

"I love your family," she said to Wally, her hand being held by his. "They're absolutely wonderful."

Wally smiled. "I'm glad," he said. "I know they asked you some hard questions, and…."

"They didn't know," she interrupted. "It's okay. You were there to calm me down."

"Of course I was. I'm really glad you like them. I was hoping you would. I knew they would like you, but I wasn't sure of what you would think of them."

"Oh, Wally, they're perfect. Your mother and father are so kind! And Joey is just adorable. I love them. I wish…I wish my family was like yours."

Wally smiled at her. "I know, Kooks." He stopped her and put his arms around her. "But you're always welcome with my family. We'll always welcome you in our house with open arms."

"Thank you…." she said, putting her hands on his chest. "That means a lot to me, Wally."

"But as much as my family likes you," he said, putting his forehead to hers, "they'll never like you as much as I do." A faint blush was on his cheeks. He could be really romantic when he wanted to.

"Yeah….But do you like me as much as I like you?" she asked, blushing herself.

"Are you kiddin'? I like you _way _more."

"How do you know that?"

"'Cause I always kiss you first. That's why." He smirked at her. "What do you think of that, little missy?"

She smiled. "I think this," she said shyly, bringing her head forward. She placed her lips on his, kissing him first.

And they both thought the same thing as they shared a kiss under the moonlight.

_I love you._

* * *

**Ha ha, I like what I did with Wally's mom. I can just imagine her, getting all excited over Wally's first girlfriend. That was funny. XD I really hope you guys liked this. This chapter is about as long as chapter twelve! I wasn't expecting that!**

**Here's a little head's up for what'll happen in the next chapter: Brooke is gonna mess with Kuki a little bit, and she'll have to go to Wally to make her feel better. And that's all I'm telling you. It won't be a huge chapter, but that's what I'm planning. **

**Well, have a great day, guys! Thanks for taking the time to read this! Stay tuned for chapter 16 (man, this story is long!)! See ya till then!**


	16. What Matters Most

**am very pleased with the reviews I received for chapter 15! I'm glad you liked Mrs. Beetles. I was hoping people would. I was hoping to make her funny. So here we go, chapter 16!**

**By the way, I think I know what meiosis is, but I could be wrong…If so, just ignore it. We studied meiosis and mitosis at the beginning of the year and I forget.**

**Also, after reading this chapter, please don't think of Kuki as a stupid person. She's just a shy, nervous girl, who cares very deeply for Wally and doesn't want anything bad to happen to him. I don't want anyone to think she is dim.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Creative disclaimer, huh?**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 16

What Matters Most

Kuki smiled as she felt Wally's warm hand take hers oh so sneakily under the desk, carefully making sure no one was watching. Everybody knew that public displays of affection were prohibited, although…That never really stopped anybody. And the teachers didn't really care either. As long as you weren't doing anything that made others gag, like making out with the tongues clearly visible (as some disgusting people do), then it wasn't that big of a deal. But, you could never be too careful.

She glanced over at Wally, who acted nonchalant about the whole thing. He was just pretending that he was listening to the teacher, a bored look on his face. He noticed her looking, and he smiled at her. He mouthed to her "Hey Kooks."

She mouthed back "Hey Wally." She smiled back.

"Wally, can you explain the process of meiosis for the class?"

He whipped his head back to the front, where Mr. Harrison was standing.

"What?" he asked, surprised by the sudden question.

"Please explain the process of meiosis, Wally."

He froze. "Uh…" Wally said, having absolutely no idea what the answer was. "That has something to do with the splittin' of cells, right?"

"Yes, it does. Which kind of cells, Wally?" Mr. Harrison smirked. He loved to catch kids when they weren't listening. He always did that to him.

"Uh……..Human cells?"

Kuki giggled. _Poor Wally…Mr. Harrison caught him. _

"Nooooooo," Mr. Harrison said. "Try again."

"Uh…….."

Kuki decided to write the answer on her notebook. She nudged Wally and pointed to her paper.

"Sex cells. Meiosis is the splittin' of sex cells," Wally said proudly, crossing his arms.

"Yes, Wally. And thank you Kuki, for helping him."

Wally blushed, embarrassed that he was caught. He laughed sheepishly. "Heh heh, sorry Mr. Harrison…."

"That's alright, Wally. Maybe Kuki could perhaps tutor you on the subject, hmm?" Mr. Harrison was aware that the two were close, and was delighted by it. It was so nice to see _someone _finally be nice to such a sweet, bright student!

"I'd be glad to, sir," Kuki said.

"Fine with me!" Wally agreed. He winked at her, making her giggle.

Brooke, sitting on the other side of the room, tried to keep herself from gagging. She despised to look their way. She saw them, holding hands, smiling at each other, staring at each other with pathetic lovestruck looks on their faces. It made she and her friends sick. She scowled silently.

_She just thinks that just because she has a boyfriend now that everything is going to be okay…._She thought, gripping her pencil a little too tightly. _Just look at them….Everyone can see them holding hands. Ugh! Wally doesn't even know where those hands of hers have been! It's disgusting! Of course ,Wally is obviously an idiot. _She thought of her confrontation with him a few days before, and growled to herself.

_He thinks he's so high and mighty…I would just love to see Todd kick his butt…_

Of course, it wasn't time for that yet. Oh no. She and Todd had to decide when the right time to strike would be.

But until then, she had to think of other ways to torture them.

_I have to break them up if I ever want things to go back to normal again, _she thought, glaring at Kuki, who was explaining the process of meiosis for the class. _I mean, girls like Kuki aren't supposed to be dating. It might make other losers hopeful. I can't have that happening. I have to stay on top. I have to keep everything in balance. Only the popular and normal kids can date. Not stupid idiots like Kuki and Wally. And if I can break them up, and convince Wally to change his ways…How great would it be, to break them up, and then have Kuki watch her ex-boyfriend become popular, while she remains the biggest loser on in the whole school? Oh, that'd be great!_

Brooke didn't like Wally, but she had to admit that he had a cool personality. She knew that if Wally ever left her, he would immediately become popular, whether Brooke liked it or not. The bright side to it, however, was that Kuki would be left in the dust, and she would still be a loser.

_But Wally was serious when he said he loved her….._ Brooke knew everything about boys, and she could tell by the look on the Australian's face that he was serious when he said that. _I don't think there's any chance that I can get him to break up with her….But Kuki…._

An idea began to form in her head.

_Maybe I can get Kuki to break up with him….If she thinks it's what's best for him…..All I have to do is catch her alone, and talk to her….Maybe that'll be all it takes…._

It would be hard to catch her alone. She and Wally were like two peas in a pod, and always together. But Brooke knew she could do it. She could do anything! She just had to watch her at all times, and talk to her as soon as Wally left the scene. Then she would strike…

_Everything will go back to normal…._She thought, finally beginning to calm down. _I __**will **__break those two up….Everything always goes my way…Always._

_------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Study hall. That was the time where Brooke decided to strike Kuki Sanban. It was perfect. Study hall was always the time where students could converse freely without being lectured to keep their mouths shut. The best part was that she and Kuki shared that class together, and Wally wasn't there to protect her. That was great. Kuki was vulnerable without her stupid lover/bodyguard around.

But Brooke only had a half hour to do it. She would have to act fast, and do it in a manner to not have Kuki run away, but be effective.

She had it all planned out in her mind. She knew exactly what she would say, what she would do, how she would act, and how she would look. Kuki was an easy target, and you could convince her to believe anything. She was positive her plan would work.

She let her friends in on her little plan, and unsurprisingly, they were totally supportive of her. She didn't mention that them breaking up could potentially make Wally popular, as Todd would not be happy at the idea of that. But she had to do it if she wanted things to go back to normal.

Brooke truly thought that she was doing the right thing, since it would benefit her and her friends and put Kuki in her proper place. And she was so eager to see the results of her mischief. She strode into her study hall with confidence, and immediately set Kuki out. She saw the petite Asian sitting at the usual desk in the corner, empty desks all around. However, instead of a look of despair on her face, she was smiling happily, doodling and coloring on a piece of paper. She was coloring in a picture of an orange flower with green stems. It was a beautiful picture, but it just made Brooke scowl.

_Orange and green. How pathetic…I'd love to smack that lovestruck look of her face…_

She immediately calmed her anger and tried to put on a pleasant face. She couldn't let her emotions get the better of her. She had to do this.

Kuki let out a small gasp when she saw Brooke sit down next to her, and then gulped. Brooke hadn't spoken to her since the accident. She was hoping it was going to stay that way, but she knew there was a slim chance of that happening. She knew she was Brooke's favorite victim. Her heart immediately quickened, and her hands trembled.

_I wish Wally were here…_

"Well, hello, Kuki!" Brooke greeted her, as if they were good friends. "I haven't spoken to you in a while, have I? How are you?" Her false friendliness was very convincing. Why didn't Brooke ever try acting as a hobby?

"F-f-fine…." Kuki stuttered, clutching onto her orange colored pencil. Her fingers turned white from gripping it so hard. "H-h-how are you, B-Brooke?"

"Why, I'm just fine, thank you!" she said, a smile plastered on her face. "But obviously my weekend wasn't as exciting as yours, was it? I heard all about your new relationship with Wally. You two are dating now, right?"

"Y-yeah…." She was so nervous. She had no idea what the blonde-haired vixen was up to. Surely she wasn't very happy with Kuki, after what had happened at the party. So many questions were occupying her mind. What was Brooke up to? What did she want? Did she have something new planned? What should she do?

"Wow, that must be exciting," Brooke continued. "I remember when I started going out with Todd. Of course, it was a lot harder for me. I mean, I had so many potential boyfriends lined up. I could have any boy I wanted to, after all. It was hard choosing. But when I decided to try Todd, I was so happy with him. But for you, it was easy, wasn't it? I mean, Wally is the only boy that is willing to date you, so you don't have to choose…."

Kuki ignored the insult, because she was too busy trying to figure out what she was up to.

"I'm sure you're very happy being with him."

Kuki nodded. "I am," she said. "He's wonderful…." She relaxed a bit, thinking of him before turning her attention back to Brooke.

"And he's happy with you?"

"I…..I think so…."

"Well, that's good," Brooke said, leaning back against her chair. "It's always good to know that a relationship is working out fine. Although I can't help but wonder if……No, no, never mind. It's not important." She waved the comment off like it was no big deal.

The comment, however, caught Kuki's interest. "W-what is it?" she asked shyly. "You can't help wonder if what?"

"Oh, Kuki, please, it's really nothing. You should enjoy your relationship with Wally, no matter what happens."

_No matter what happens? _She gulped at that.

"But still….Kuki, did you ever consider how your relationship might affect Wally?"

"W-what?" A confused look grew on her face. "What….What do you mean?"

"Well, let's be truthful Kuki. Obviously you're not liked by many people. Wally seems to be the only one to really like you."

How many times did Brooke have to remind her of that? It hurt to hear it, every time.

"I….I know…" She started looking at her shoes, not wanting to look Brooke in the face.

"So do you really think that people will like Wally, now that he's associated with you? Nobody will want to be his friend now that he's with you. Anybody who hangs around you is automatically unpopular. People will start to think of him the same way they think of you. He'll suffer just like you do. He'll endure everything that you have to. People will treat him just like they treat you. Do you really want that to happen? Do you really want him to go through that?"

Kuki's dark eyes widened.

_I had never thought of that…._she thought alarmingly. _Would people really start to treat him like they do with me? Would that really happen?_

"But…But Wally isn't like me…" Kuki argued, trying to keep calm. "Why wouldn't people like him when he isn't like me?"

"It doesn't matter," Brooke replied. "Just like anyone who's friends with me is automatically popular, anyone with you is automatically an outcast. It doesn't matter what they're like. It's just the way things work, Kuki. It's how it happens. And I know that Wally's a tough guy, and it probably wouldn't bother him as much. But don't you think eventually he would get tired of it? I mean, you're tired of it, aren't you? And don't you think he would eventually resent you for it? I think he would."

Kuki was fully panicking now. _It makes so much sense…_She thought. She imagined Wally, being ignored and mocked by everyone just because of her.

"But you don't have to worry about that now. You guys just started the relationship. It'll probably be a while before people start being mean to him. So you should just enjoy it while you can. There's nothing more exciting than a first love, after all." She gave a smile that seemed friendly, masking the evil from her face. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, Kuki," she said, getting up from the desk. "If you excuse me, I have to go give Delilah some advice. She has a date tonight, and she has no idea what to wear. I'm sure you know the feeling." She walked away from a horrified Kuki, joining her best friend at the other side of the room. A smirk was on her face, and gave Delilah a thumbs up, signifying success.

_Let the games begin. _

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brooke's words echoed through Kuki's head all day, making her tense and nervous all day. She wrung her hands, bounced her legs up and down, and shook all day. It was terrifying to her.

_Is Brooke right? _she thought, not for the first time that day. _Will people really start hating him like they do me? I would never want that to happen to Wally, not in a million years! Before he came into my life….My life was miserable. Will I be responsible for making him miserable too?_

_But he's tough, isn't he? Something like that wouldn't bother him…..right?_

She wanted to desperately believe that it were true, that he was too tough to care about others like that.

But she still had doubt.

Sometimes her fear would bring her close to tears, but she wouldn't let herself cry. No, she couldn't do that yet.

_I have to talk to Wally, _she decided, drawing doodles on the paper cover of her notebook. _I'll tell him everything that Brooke said, and see what he thinks. I only hope……That he proves me wrong….._

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wally, I need to talk to you….About something really important…." Kuki said, finishing up her lunch. They had a nice lunch together, eating and chatting about their day, and other non-important things. That's how their lunch usually went.

"Yeah? Somethin' been on your mind, Kooks? You seemed kinda tense…." he answered, a concerned look on his face.

Her heart warmed at the sight of him. _He always knows when I'm troubled by something…. _she thought, smiling a little. She also enjoyed her nickname. Every time he called her Kooks, it was said affectionately. It made her feel loved, a feeling she hardly ever got.

It just made her hope that what Brooke said wasn't true even more.

_I may have to leave Wally if things ever do get bad for him…._She felt as if she had been kicked in the gut every time she thought that. The thought of losing him……She might as well just fall into a black hole.

"Y-yeah…." she said, suddenly growing even more nervous. "It's…..It's something I've been worrying about…"

"Yeah? Well, you know you can tell me anything, Kuki. Go ahead, spit it out. Well, don't literally spit it out, that would be disgusting…."

She giggled at that, and Wally smiled. He was hoping she'd like the joke. He wanted to make her feel better.

She quickly grew somber again after giggling though. "I…I don't want to talk about it here…Can we go to the hangout after school, maybe? That would be a lot more private…"

"Is this…..serious? Did something bad happen? Did…..Did somebody hurt you?!?!?!? Threaten you?!?!?!? Who was it? Tell me, and I'll…." His face grew angry, as he was thinking of possible people that could've hurt her, and how he could get them back.

"No no no! Nothing like that!" she quickly assured him, but couldn't help but feel happy that he cared so much. "I promise, nobody hurt me."

He calmed down. "Okay," he said. "So after school then?"

She nodded. "After school."

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Wally wondered what exactly it was that had been bothering Kuki so much. He was used to Kuki worrying about things; it was just one of those things that made her who she was. He knew that when he started going out with her that he would have to help her overcome her worries, and he had no problem with that.

But she hadn't been worrying that much all that week. Oh sure, she would get nervous if Brooke and her friends were in sight, and she was worried about meeting Wally's parents, but that was about it. What else did she have to worry about? And did it involve him? Would he be able to help her with her problem? He hoped he could.

Because helping her was one of the ways he showed her he cared.

He waited by her locker when the final bell struck. He smiled when he caught sight of her at the end of the hallway, her books in her arms. She gave him a smile back, but he could see the worry in her eyes, and he frowned a little.

"You okay, Kooks?" he asked her as she was unlocking her locker.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just….thinking."

"About whatevah you're worryin' about?"

"Yeah….."

He put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Well, as soon as we get to the hangout you can tell me all about it. I'm sure whatever it is, it's nothing to worry about."

Kuki silently disagreed with him in her head.

Soon Kuki had everything she needed and was ready to go, and Wally took her hand and led her outside school.

Brooke walked by them for a second, and she had given Kuki a smiling, glancing at her. Kuki just looked at her helplessly.

The blonde smirked. _Let's see how long they last now after our delightful little conversation, _she thought, feeling victorious. She walked on, leaving them alone, so she could go meet her friends.

Wally and Kuki didn't talk much on their way to the hangout. Wally wasn't sure if Kuki felt like striking up a conversation, at least not until they got to their destination. She was always pretty quiet when something was on her mind.

They were both relieved when they finally arrived at the hangout. Kuki was relieved that she could finally tell him what had been on her mind all day. Wally was relieved that his curiosity would finally come to an end, so she could stop worrying. He hated seeing his favorite girl be so unhappy.

The sat at the old tables and chairs that had been left behind along with the building, since they still had not gotten their paychecks from work. It was either that or the floor, and they didn't feel like sitting on the cold hardwood floor.

"So, Kooks, what's up?" Wally started, taking both of her hands in his, hoping it would comfort her. "What's been on your mind?"

Kuki took a deep breath. _Oh, how do I start? _she thought, panicking. _What should I say?_

"Um….Well….I…I don't really know how to start…." she admitted. "I mean…..I'm really nervous…."

"Don't be," Wally said, his voice kind and gentle. "Remember when you had trouble telling me about your family, and how nervous you were? I told you that you could tell me anything. Whatever it is, it's gonna be okay. No matter what. Trust me."

"How do I know that everything is going to be okay?" she asked, almost to herself. "How do I know that our relationship is a good thing, and not a bad thing?"

"What do you mean? Of course it's a good thing! I mean….." He blushed. "I'm pretty happy being with you. Aren't….Aren't you?"

"Wally, of course I am!" she said, her voice cracking a little. "I love being with you! Because our relationship is good for _me. _But what about you, Wally? How do we know that this relationship won't hurt you? Anything could happen Wally! Anything!"

"Kuki, that's ridiculous! This relationship has been great, for both you AND me! What the crud do you think is gonna happen to me because I'm dating you?" He had no idea what she was worrying about. What could happen to him? Was a meteor gonna crash down on him because he was dating her? He didn't get it.

"People hate me!" she said, her eyes suddenly going watery. Tears soon became to fall. "I'm the most unpopular person in the entire school and…"

"And you know that I think that people don't hate you, they just don't know you! And even so, I don't care about that!" he interrupted, suddenly feeling a little angry. _She has to know this by now, doesn't she?_

"I know that, Wally! I know that! It's just….It's just…." More tears fell down her cheeks.

His anger quickly dwindled away, and reached over and put his hand on her cheek, wiping some of the tears away. "It's just what?" His voice was affectionate and calming. "What exactly is it that you're worrying about? And why?"

"I'm worried that people will start treating you the way they treat me," she said, putting her hand over his, which was still laid on her face. "That they'll start making you as miserable as they've made me. Since you're with me, they'll make you as unpopular as I am. They'll ignore you, and call you names, and hurt you….And I don't want that to happen to you Wally, because I know what it feels like to be treated that way. It's a terrible thing, to feel hated and unwanted like that. That you're worthless and stupid because no one likes you. And I also don't want that to happen to you because I….I…care about you a lot."

She wanted to say _I love you, _but found herself wimping out instead.

"That's what you've been worrying about?"

She nodded her head yes, a miserable look on her face. "I understand if you don't want to be with me now," she added, more tears rolling down her cheeks. "In fact, it would probably make more sense if you did." Her heart was going to break if he did that.

"Kuki, how can a smart girl like you possibly think that I would leave you because of something like _that! _In fact, it's kinda funny…." He started laughing.

_She's been worrying about that? Hah, that's ridiculous! _

"But Wally, don't you think that'll happen? It's not funny!" she said, trying to make him understand. "People could hate you because of me!"

"As if I cared! Kooks, don't you know _anything _about me? You should know that I could care less about that!"

"I wanted to think that, Wally. Because I know you're tough, and that you don't usually care what other people think. But….I couldn't help but wonder….I used to be a happy-go-lucky girl. But ever since people started treating me the way they did, I changed. And I wondered…Would they change you too? Could they break you, just like they did me?"

He stopped laughing, and looked into Kuki's dark, dark eyes, seeing that she was serious. She knew he was tough, she knew he normally didn't care about that kind of thing. But she had a right to worry. She didn't want him to become what she had become. And she didn't want him to leave her and hate her for it, he suddenly realized.

"No, Kooks. They aren't gonna change me, not one bit. I'm too tough for them, and too stubborn. I'm not willing to change for anybody, no matter how much they try. I won't become sad and depressed if they start treating me like crud. I'll just started treating them like crud right back. I don't care what they think of me, just like I don't care what they think of you. What they think of me doesn't matter to me. There are more important things that matter to me than popularity, and things like that.

My family matters to me. My friends matter to me. Even though I don't show it, even my grades matter to me a little bit. At least, it matters most to me more than popularity. But…You know what matters to me even more than that? What I really care about?"

"What?" she asked, her eyes no longer spilling tears.

"_You _matter to me, Kuki. What you think of me matters to me. What my friends and family think of me matters to me. Those are the opinions I really care about. As long as my mates like me, as long as my family loves me…..As long as you care about me….." He took her hands again, holding both of them in his cupped hands. "Then I'm happy."

"R-Really?" Kuki asked.

"Yes," he replied, giving her a smile.

"And….You won't ever resent me for it?"

"It won't be your fault if people start treating me badly, Kuki. Nothing was ever your fault. I could never hate you. You know……..how I feel about you." He couldn't bring himself to say those three words either. It was such a tender expression, after all!

"Do you understand now, Kuki? Do you understand now that I don't care about the others, and that it doesn't matter to me? Because that's not what matters most, you know. Those things had never mattered to me. Those things don't, and never will, bother me. Ever. Do you get it now?"

She smiled at him, no longer afraid, and now even deeper in love with Wally then ever before. "Yes," she said, getting up and giving him a hug. "I understand now Wally. Thank you. I feel so much better now…Now that I know I don't have to worry about you getting hurt from others."

"No, you don't have to worry about it," he said, gladly returning her warm embrace. "Why don't you let me worry about me, and you worry about yourself, eh? I can take care of myself."

"Nuh-uh," she refused. "I'm supposed to worry about you. I worry about all the people I care about. Just like you worry about me."

"Fine. Just try not to worry as much, okay? Like I've said, you worry _way _too much. Not that it bothers me, but I hate to see you like that all the time."

"I'll try," she answered, and she meant it. She really would try not to worry so much. She needed to enjoy what they both had, as much as she could. She didn't want to waste it worrying. Of course, it would take a while for her worrying to get under control, and she would still worry from time to time. But she would try.

"Good. Now how about we go get some ice cream? I'm in the mood for some."

"That sounds good to me," she said, letting him go so he could get out of his chair. "And thanks again, Wally. You always know what to say to make me feel better."

He put his arm around her. "That's what boyfriends are for," he answered, kissing the top of her head. "Makin' our girlfriends happy."

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**Blah. This chapter is just kinda blah. And short. But I was never too crazy about this chapter, so oh well. And I'm too lazy to make it better, ha ha. Of course, I still hope you guys find it satisfactory. Like I said, this wasn't supposed to be a very big chapter, I just wanted to put in a little conflict in the story before putting it back to lovey dovey world again. But Brooke's not done messing with them that, despite her failure….**

**Next chapter: Wally and Kuki have a sleepover, hooray! Please keep in mind that I am not a sicko, and there will be no adult themes in this story! It may be rated teen, but I don't want it to be too mature, if you know what I mean. You will also be hearing from Chase and Matt again, via instant messaging.**

**Hope you liked it, and I hope you review! :D **


	17. Sleepover!

**Okay guys, get ready for the fluffiest chapter EVER!!!!**

**This chapter is dedicated to my favorite reviewer, hellopandaluver. You totally rock! I always look forward to your reviews. You seriously make my day. You're one of the reasons I keep writing! This one's all for you!!!!**

**Also, there is an issue that I would like to address. Some of you would like to see Kuki with a little more confidence, and I totally understand that. And let me tell you, I don't think of her as weak. I've never thought that. And yes, she WILL eventually stand up for herself. I'm saving that for the last chapter in the initial story. So please be patient with me, and you will see her finally stand up to Brooke, and even Todd. I promise!**

**CAUTION: Overuse of fluffiness and romantic stuff I've read in books and seen in movies and stuff may cause pain in the stomach, head, and pancreas. If you feel like throwing up, please go to your nearest toilet or trash bin. Thank you, and be careful.**

**Disclaimer: Mr. Warburton owns Codename: Kids Next Door. I do not. And that is a fact. I also do not own Wally's striped hoodie. That belongs to Jas, or Orionstorm.**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 17

Sleepover!

_Tough_Guy has entered the chatroom._

_Hott_Rocker has entered the chatroom._

_Sk8ter-boi has entered the chatroom._

Tough_Guy: Hey mates! What's up?

Hott_Rocker: Nothin' much for both of us. What we care about is what's up with YOU?

Sk8ter-boi: Yeah! What's up with you and the Misses? Any dinners by candlelight? Long walks on the beach?

Hott_Rocker: Any skinny-dipping????

Tough_Guy: WHAT?!?!?!? NO!!!!!! What the crud is WRONG WITH YOU?!?

Hott_Rocker: Hey, buddy, people in love do that. Don't blame me for what some people do.

Tough_Guy: I mean, we haven't even been swimming!!! Why in the world do you think we would do something like that? That is sick! That is wrong! I mean seriously

Sk8ter-boi: Calm down, mate! He was just joking, weren't you Chase?

Hott_Rocker: Yeah, it was just a little joke! Geeze, get the ants outta your panties, Walls.

Tough_Guy: Shut up. -_-!

Sk8ter-boi: But seriously, what's up? What's been going on with you two?

Tough_Guy: Well, first off, you remember Brooke and Todd and their friends? The people that are mean to her? I told em' off.

Hott_Rocker: Well that's no surprise.

Sk8ter-boi: Yeah, that was to be expected.

Tough_Guy: And my family met her…

Sk8ter-boi: Let me guess, they loved her, right?

Tough_Guy: Yeah, but I heard my mom humming that little wedding tune. You know, the one that goes bum bum ba bum, bum bum ba bum….I think she's a little TOO excited I have a girlfriend.

Hott_Rocker: Ha ha, that's funny!

Sk8ter-boi: Yeah, can I be best man?

Hott_Rocker: Hey, I wanna be best man!!!

Sk8ter-boi: You're too stoopid to be best man.

Hott_Rocker: Hey, I

Tough_Guy: Would you guys shut up! I'm not marrying her!

Hott_Rocker: Maybe not NOW….

Sk8ter-boi: But later! After all, she is the Chosen One.

Tough_Guy: Ugh, whatever. You guys are giving me a headache.

Sk8ter-boi: So have you taken her on a date yet?

Tough_Guy: Yeah, one.

Hott_Rocker: One?!?!? Just one?!?!?

Tough_Guy: Yeah, what about it?

Hott_Rocker: Dude, you gotta take her out more! Women tend to get impatient if you don't take them out.

Tough_Guy: Really?

Sk8ter-boi: Yeah! You gotta take her out, and soon.

Tough_Guy: Well, I will then… It IS Saturday, after all…and both of our parents are gone this weekend on a business trip. They work for the same people you know….Although her parents are kind of in charge of mine….But who cares? They ain't here! Heh, we can go out till five in the morning if we wanted to! :D And NO, we would not do anything questionable!!!!!!

Hott_Rocker: Good! You wouldn't wanna have a kid or anything…

Sk8ter-boi: What about Joey? Isn't he there?

Tough_Guy: Nope. Mum went with my dad so she and Joey can explore the city. I was offered to go, but I didn't want to.

Sk8ter-boi: Because you wanted to stay with Kuki!!!!! :3

Hott_Rocker: Awww, Wally wuvs his girlfriend!!!!

Wally blushed until he was as red as a beet.

Tough_Guy: SHUT UP!!!!!

Hott_Rocker: "Oh, Kuki, I love you sooooo much! You're my cuddly wuddly snuggly bear!"

Sk8ter-boi: "Your kisses are like drugs! I'm addicted to them!" Smoochy smooch smooch!

_Tough_Guy has left the chatroom._

Sk8ter-boi: Wally, come back!

Hott_Rocker: Don't leave us! We love you!!!!!

Sk8ter-boi: You're breaking my heart!

Hott_Rocker: How can we go on without you????

Sk8ter-boi: *starts crying*

Hott_Rocker: *starts crying and uses Matt's shirt for a tissue*

Wally groaned at this point, and just turned off his computer to stop the madness.

_Idiots. Why am I friends with them again? Oh yeah….'Cause I'm an idiot too!_

He turned to his bed, and glanced at the photo booth picture on his desk for the millionth time during his time in America. He smiled at it fondly, picking it up.

_We should go to that booth again….._he thought randomly. _We took that picture as friends…But we aren't exactly friends anymore…'Cause I am one handsome stud!!!! _

He laughed at his little joke, and spotted his cell phone.

_Matt and Chase said I should take her out on another date…Is she really impatient with me? Crud, I hope she isn't….I think I'll call her…_

He dialed her cell phone number, which was on his contacts list. He hoped that she answered her phone. It wasn't on a lot since she didn't have that many people to call.

"Hi Wally," she answered. You could tell by her voice how pleased she was to finally have someone calling her.

"Hey Kooks," he said. "Um…What's up?"

"Nothing much, actually….Did your parents leave already?"

"Yeah, about an hour ago. Yours?"

"Yeah. I have the house all to myself now."

A puzzled look came across his face. "What about Mushi? She didn't go with them did she? She doesn't seem like the type that would want to be dragged to the city."

Kuki giggled. "No, she isn't. She's staying at her friend's house."

"She has a lot of sleepovers, doesn't she?"

"Yeah…." Wally heard her sigh sadly. "I've never been on one of those. At least, not that I remember…." Before he could comment on that, she said, her voice cheerful again, "So did you call for a special reason, Wally? Or did you want to talk?"

"Um….Actually, yeah, I do have a reason. Um….Y' see…..I was wonderin'….Do you wanna go on another date? Tonight? Right now?"

"Right now? Even though we spent the day at Melloni's together?"

Wally panicked. "Well, yeah, but we don't have to, I mean…I know girls need their alone time and stuff, and…"

"No, it's not that," she assured him. "It's just that….Well, it's nice to know that….You want to spend that much time with me…" He couldn't see her, but she was blushing, a big wide smile on her face, twirling her raven black hair.

"Well, yeah, _of course _I would want to spend time with you! You're my girlfriend, ain't ya?"

"Yeah…Thank you Wally. I would absolutely love to go out with you…." She was filled to the brim with excitement. Another date with Wally? What could be better?

"Okay…Do you….How about we go to a movie? That's a typical date, right?"

"Yeah! That sounds great! But is it okay if we don't see something scary?"

He laughed. "That's fine with me! So…I guess I'll pick you up now! See you soon Kuki!"

"Okay, Wally!" She was about to get off the phone when she heard him say, "Um, Kuki…."

"Yes?"

"Um…I….I uh….I lo…I lo….I loved that skirt you wore that one night…You know, the one you wore when we…um, first kissed?"

Oh, she knew _exactly _which one he was talking about. She had replayed the scene in her head so many times that she knew every little detail of it, including what she wore.

"Would….Would you like me to wear that again?" she asked him, walking over to her closet and getting the skirt, which was just put in the washer yesterday.

"Y-Yeah…" he said, stuttering.

"Okay then." She was relieved. Now she didn't have to torture herself over what to wear. _Thank you Wally! _"Anything else?"

"Nah….I'll see you there."

"Okay, bye Wally!"

"Bye!"

Wally dropped his cell phone onto his bed and started smacking himself on the head. _Idiot! _he thought, scolding himself. _What's so hard about saying those three little words??? They're said all the time! I say that to my mother every time I leave for school! Why is it so hard to tell her, even after I told her that already?!? Ugh…..I ain't cut out for this love crud…_

But he didn't really think of love as crud anymore. Not since he met Kuki. And he knew it.

_I'll tell her again eventually. Maybe tonight…Or tomorrow…Or next week…..Or next month…._

The list in his head got longer, and then grew fed up with himself. Why was he, Wallabee Beetles, scared of _words _for?!?!? He could do anything! He was the toughest guy he had ever met! There was nothing he couldn't handle!

Right?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Is it me, or does she look even prettier in that outfit than last time? _Wally thought, scanning her with his eyes. She wore the skirt he mentioned (which he truly liked, he didn't lie about it over the phone) with the same shirt. However, this time she was adorned with some black teardrop earrings, and a pretty necklace to match. She also wore clear lip gloss, making her lips shiny.

And was that mascara on her eyelashes?

Wally gulped. All he did was put his hoodie, with white and orange stripes and drawstrings with little puffballs at the end of them. He did that, and brushed his hair.

He also brushed his teeth, remembering a piece of Matt's advice on girls (which, at the time, Wally didn't want, but Matt gave it to him anyway). _You don't EVER want to show up on a date with bad breath. Girls find that more revolting than eating with your mouth full. If you like the girl, brush your teeth. If you don't, then don't._

Wally was still trying to figure out why in the world a guy would go out with a girl he didn't like, but he didn't dwell too long on that. He was too busy getting ready for his second date.

"Hey there, Kooks!" he said, trying to sound cool. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah!" she said enthusiastically, acting more like her ten-year-old self. She was so excited. "I've….been looking forward to this since you called." She blushed.

"Me too," he answered, blushing as well, offering his hand to her. "Let's go then, huh?"

She put her delicate little hand into his strong, sturdy ones. "Okay, Wally. What're we seeing?"

"Uh, I dunno…I haven't really checked…" He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.

"That's okay," she answered, smiling. "I'm sure there's something good playing." She didn't care what they saw. Heck, in fact, she _would _watch a scary movie with him, if that were to happen. She could hold his hand and jump onto him every time something scary happened. Now _that _sounded kind of nice…

They ended up seeing a comedy, however. They both felt they could use some laughs. They bought their tickets, got some popcorn, and some sour patch kids, along with soda.

At the beginning of the movie, Wally wondered what the protocol was for going on a date at the movies.

_Do I hold her hand? _he wondered, _or should I put my arm around her? Or do you do one halfway through the movie, and then the other? _He had no idea.

After deeply contemplating over this while the previews were showing, he decided he would try to put his arm around her. _I hold her hand all the time! I should try somthin' else for once._

Ever so slowly, he put his arm around her, and put his hand on her shoulder. He was so nervous. Would she reject his arm?

Kuki was surprised to find his arm around her, and looked up at him. He smiled sheepishly at her, as if asking _Is this okay?_

She responded by laying her head on his shoulder, smiling wide. She had never thought in a million years she would ever get to rest her head on a boy's shoulders, much less her boyfriend.

He pulled her closer to him after he realized it was okay, and rested his head on top of hers. It was quite beautiful, really.

And apparently a lot of other people thought so too.

"Oh, look at that couple over there…"

"How cute!"

"I remember when we were like that…."

They both blushed, embarrassed. _Thank goodness it's dark…_ they both thought, grateful to be in a movie theater. The lack of lighting was quite convenient.

The movie was hilarious. Everyone in the theater busted their guts at the funny parts. Kuki and Wally had a great time.

"That was awesome! I'm gonna have to get that when it goes out on DVD!" he said, still laughing from the funny ending.

Kuki giggled along with him. "Me too," she agreed. "We can watch it again!"

"And again!"

They found that comment quite funny as well, and started lauging again. Then something caught Wally's eye. "Hey Kooks!" he said excitedly, pointing. "It's a photo booth!"

"Hey, yeah! And it's just like the one from the arcade!"

They didn't even have to ask each other if they wanted to do it or not. They just headed toward it, and got in the booth.

"Okay, let's see…" Wally got out his wallet. "Three bucks, it says…"

"Oh Wally, no! Let me pay for it! You paid for it last time!"

He waggled his finger at her. "Nuh-uh! I'm payin' for it. It's a momento from me. Now if we ever go to a big fancy expensive restaurant, then you can pay for that!"

He also wouldn't let her pay because he remembered another one of the dating tips he had gotten from his friends, this time from Chase.

_ALWAYS pay for stuff on dates, Wally. ALWAYS. It makes you seem like a gentleman, and girls LOVE it!_

She laughed again. "Okay, agreed."

"But since I _am _paying for it, I get to pick the background!"

Kuki agreed to that as well, and turned to the screen to look at options.

"Let's see here…." he scanned the categories, and then saw the romantic section.

"Guess we'll look there…" he said, rubbing his head again. "I mean, you know…since we're together now…."

"Right," she said, rubbing her arm.

"Now let's see…..There are a few options here…."

One was two cherub angels that would look like they were flying above their heads. Wally snorted at that.

_Angels are stupid._

The next one was a pink background, with ruby red hearts all over it.

_That ain't too bad…._

The last one had a big heart encircling them, with the words _Together Forever _on top. Wally gulped at that one.

_They way I feel about her now, yeah, maybe we'd last forever. But…..I don't wanna assume things._

So he went with the pink background with the hearts.

"What kind of poses do you make with a romanic theme, Wally?"

The Australian drew a blank. "Uh, I dunno…I guess we'll have to improvise. I mean, I guess it could be like last time. Normal picture first…My arm will be around ya first, only I'll pull you closer to me…And uh…You can do whatever you want, I guess. Okay?"

"Okay…"

So Wally did what he said he would and pulled her close. Kuki decided to put her head back on his shoulder, so he put his head back on hers, and they smiled. It was a very sweet picture.

"Now what?" she asked him after the first picture was taken.

"Funny one next. Let's give each other bunny ears, eh? That's always fun."

She giggled. He _always _made her laugh. "Okay." They gave each other bunny ears, and laughed.

"I feel like a first grader," he commented, smiling for the camera.

"Hee hee, me too."

That picture turned out well too.

"Next is wildcard, right?"

"Yeah, although I don't know what to do for that one…"

"I…I know what to do…" Kuki said shyly.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, just sit there."

"Just sit there?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah…Just….Sit there…." Her cheeks grew rosy.

"Uh…Okay…"

Just as the flash went off, Kuki suddenly kissed his cheek, surprising him. His eyes grew big and red tinted his cheeks, his mouth set in a small 'o'.

"Well….That was certainly some good improvising," he said, rubbing his cheek.

"You…You don't mind, do you?"

"'Course not…." Then he said in barely a whisper, "I like getting kissed by you…"

"Huh?"

"Nothin'! Nothin' at all! Hey, look, there's our pictures comin' out!" he said, getting the pictures out of the slot they came out of.

"How do they look?" She walked up to him and took her copy to look at.

They both stared at the pictures in silence. Kuki broke it after a while. "I think I like these even better, Wally…" she said, a small smile on her lips.

"Yeah…." he agreed. "I do too, Kooks." He took her hand again. "I do too."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kuki had always loved the night sky. She thought it was one of the more beautiful things about the universe. She had always loved gazing at the stars and the moon. They were more wonderful than anything else in the world. No matter how she was feeling, the sight of the glittering stars and the big, white moon always gave a sense of calm and happiness. No matter what happened, she would always have a friend in the night sky.

Kuki told Wally this once they had left the theater, while she was staring at the beautiful sky.

"Wow, you really like the sky, don't you?" he asked her, grinning.

"I love it," she answered, scanning to find the brightest star in the sky. She often did that. "It's always so beautiful. I know it may not look as beautiful here as it does in Australia, but….It doesn't really matter where you are. It's always breathtaking to me."

She literally could not take her eyes off of the sky. She looked at it just like she sometimes looked at him.

Wally felt a little jealous. However, he ignored it, because he had just thought of their next destination for the night.

"Kuki, there's a place I wanna show ya," he said, guiding her to the other side of the street (after checking for traffic, of course).

"You do? What kind of place?" she asked curiously.

"One of the few memories I have of my past are of my days spending it by this small little creek near here. I liked to come by there to skip rocks and just have time to myself there. I remember exactly where it is. It's not too far from here. The sky looks unbelievable there, If my memory serves right."

Luckily, he found the creek on his first try. A big wide field surrounded it, and the field was surrounded by forest. They had gotten there by an old dirt path Wally remembered existed.

And Kuki gasped when she took a look at the sky from there.

"It's…It's amazing…." she whispered to herself, unable to tear her eyes away.

The stars made even the biggest, brightest diamond on earth look dull. They shined almost as bright as the sun, but not so much that it hurt to look at them. They glittered and gleamed and sparkled. And the moon had never looked bigger. It was glowing magnificently, and the light it borrowed from the sun shined on them.

"Pretty great, huh?" Wally asked, proud of himself for finding it. He knew he would.

"Wally….I'm….I'm speechless. Words can't describe how….how _beautiful _it is….Isn't it the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?"

He looked at her, and _really _looked at her. Her eyes were sparkling, the stars being reflected in bright pools of violet. Her hair was barely visible, because it was as black as the night. The moon and starlight reflected off her flawless, ivory skin. Her smile was the widest he had ever seen it, and looked as if it could brighten a dark room itself.

"No, it's not…" he said, finding himself not able to take his eyes off _her_.

"What are you talking about, Wally?" she asked, finally taking her eyes off the sky and onto him. "What could possibly be more beautiful than this?"

"Well……When it comes to beauty…..You win."

"W-what? Huh? I don't understand."

"Kuki….." He tipped her chin up, so he could look straight into her eyes. "You are the most beautiful person I've ever seen. You put the stars and the moon to shame, because you're so beautiful. Inside and out."

Kuki let out a small gasp. "Me? Beautiful?"

"Not just beautiful, but the most beautiful thing in existence."

She felt her eyes get all watery. "No one's ever called me beautiful before…."

"Well, then….." he said, bringing his face closer to hers. "It's about time someone did…."

Electricity shot through their veins as their lips touched, just as it did on their first kiss. Wally put his arms around the small of her back, while she wrapped hers around his neck. He pushed her closer to him, deepening the kiss.

It lasted a while, and they parted.

But only for a moment.

Because Wally wanted more.

And so did Kuki.

So they kissed again, making it even deeper than the last one. And then kissed again.

And again. And again. And again.

Pretty soon, neither one of them could find themselves to stop. They just kept pressing their lips together, over and over again, the next kiss more deep and meaningful than the last.

All thoughts had escaped from their heads. All they focused on was the electricity in their bodies, their soft lips on each other. Wally's arms started moving upward, stroking and just feeling her hair, then back downward towards her back. Then they would go back up again.

Kuki's hands just kept her hands in his hair, pressing his head against hers. Soon, they would both realize that brushing their hair before the date was just a waste of time.

The only sounds that were heard was the calming sound of the crickets, using their legs like violins to make their music. The occasional croak of a frog was heard on occasion as well. It was no orchestra, but it did just fine for them.

They stopped kissing fifteen minutes later, literally gasping for breath. They had to wait for a while to regain a regular breathing pattern.

"Kuki…" he said, gasping for air. "I'm…I'm sorry if I….If I got a little too rough there…." His face was blazing red. "I didn't think I'd…._gasp_…..go crazy like that…."

Her face matched his exactly, and was breathing just as hard as he was. "Wally…Don't worry….That was…..absolutely perfect……"

His hands were resting on her shoulders, and her hands were laid on his chest.

After they had finally started breathing normally again, Wally just put his arms around her and pulled her close, and she wrapped her arms around him, and they were in a tight embrace. They stood there in silence, just to calm down.

And Wally finally said it.

"I love you, Kuki Sanban," he whispered in her ear, sending tingles down her spine. There wasn't a trace of nervousness or doubt in his voice, just pure affection. And it was all for her.

Kuki's heart jumped so high, she was surprised it didn't rip out of her chest. She grinned as wide as she could, as a single sparkling tear trickled down her cheek. "I love you too, Wallabee Beetles," she whispered in his ear, giving him the same effect. "I love you too."

He pulled his head back to look at her again. "You know, I always hated that name….Wallabee. Ugh…But when you say it…..It sounds a lot better."

She was just about to say something when she gasped and saw something fly through the air. "Wally! Look! A shooting star!" she said, pointing at it. "Make a wish! Make a wish, and I'll make mine!"

Wally laughed. _Wishing on stars….That's just a stupid cruddy superstition._

But as Kuki bent her head down and closed her eyes, Wally thought he'd give it a try. _Why not?_

Kuki was crimson, making her wish. _Oh, beautiful star, please make my wish come true. I wish….I wish to be with Wally….forever….._

Wally had more trouble deciding what to wish for. _I already have everything I've ever wanted…Family, friends, a home, food, clothing, a future…..And now I have the greatest girl in the world. What else would a guy ever ask for…?_

And then it came to him, and he closed his eyes, imitating Kuki. _Uh…Okay….Now, you listen up star, 'cause I got a wish, so you'd better pay attention! Because I wish……I wish for Kuki to have all the happiness life can give her. She deserves it. And if she can find that happiness with me….Then that'd be even better. You got that? I hope so._

He then opened his eyes, and glanced at Kuki, who was looking right back at him.

"So, I guess we can't tell each other what we wished for, huh?" he asked.

"No….Then it won't come true," she said, taking his hand. "And I really want ours to come true."

"Yeah, so do I…So…." he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I guess I should take you home now…."

"What? N-No!" she said, panicked. After her little outburst she hugged herself, embarrassed, staring at the ground.

"I don't want to be alone…I'd much rather be with you….I don't want to say goodbye." She started twiddling her fingers. "It's silly, I know, but…."

"No, it's not," he interrupted. "In fact….I don't want to say goodbye either," he realized. An idea popped into his head. "So…..let's not." He grinned to himself.

_Sometimes I can't believe how much of a genius I am! _

"C'mon, Kuki!" he said enthusiastically. "Let's go get your sleeping bag and pajamas!"

"Huh? What are we doing?"

"We're havin' a PG-rated sleepover at my house, that's what we're doing!"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

They decided to sleep in the family room of the Beetles house, which was large room with a lot of open space. Wally had set both of their sleeping bags side by side, and covering them were a ton of blankets. Pillows surrounded them everywhere.

While he was doing that, Kuki was putting on her nicest pink silky pajamas, with short ruffled sleeves and long pants. She had just gotten them last week, and thought they were appropriate for her first sleepover ever.

She couldn't stop grinning. _I can't believe Wally thought of this! _she thought, slipping on her top. He had been so proud of himself for thinking of it.

"A sleepover? We're having a sleepover?" Kuki had asked, curious, following after him through the dirt path, Wally still grasping his arm.

"You said you've never been to one, right?" he replied, pushing a few branches out of the way. "Well, you might as well have one, Kooks. It's something girls _always _do. 'Course, I'm not a girl, thank goodness, but why not have one with me? I'm just as fun as any girl! And, also…." He slowed down a bit, and bit his lip. "We won't do anything….you know….._suggestive…._or anything like that…"

Kuki blushed madly at that.

"We're just gonna have some fun, that's all!"

And she was all for it. She was in no way ready to end their time together. Why in the world would anyone want to be alone after having so much fun with Wally?

Kuki came out of the bathroom, and laughed when she saw just how many pillows and blankets Wally had set down. "Wally, do we really need all this?" she asked, giggling. "There's so many!"

"Yes, we do!" he exclaimed, fluffing a pillow on Kuki's side. "Comfort is very important! I like to sleep like a king!"

"On the floor?"

"Yes, on the floor." He crossed his arms. "Kings _like _to sleep on the floor."

"Since when?"

"Since….I dunno, they just _do_, okay? Sheesh, you ask so many questions!" He smiled, showing he was joking, and Kuki responded with a dazzling smile of her own.

"_Anyways, _I have no idea what _girls _like to do on sleepovers," he said, sitting down on his sleeping bag. "I mean, they like to paint their toenails and jabber about whatever they read in _Teen Vogue _or whatever, but I'm not really into that sort of thing."

She laughed again and sat by him. "That's okay. I'm terrible at painting nails. And I don't read _Teen Vogue. _It has too many ads in it."

"Tell me about it…." he muttered. "So, I say we start this with a pillow fight."

"A pillow fight?"

"Yep! It's one of my favorite things to do! I'm a beast at pillow fights." He got up, a pillow in his arms. "But I'll promise to go easy on ya."

"That's probably a good thing…" She grabbed the biggest pillow she could find and stood up with him. "I've never had a pillow fight before. At least, not one I can remember."

His eyes grew wide, his mouth open. "You've _never _been in a pillow fight before?"

She shook her head no. "Nuh-uh."

_Man, she is really missin' out! _he thought. "Well, Kuki Sanban…" he bowed to her. "I am honored to be your opponent in your first ever pillow fight. Shall we battle to the death?"

She giggled again, and bowed to him. "We shall, Wallabee Beetles."

"Then take this!" He swatted at her with his pillow, lightly, but still effective. Kuki fell onto the bed of blankets.

"Hey, I wasn't ready yet!" she protested, laughing.

"Oh, you must be more prepared than that, Kooks!" he replied, hitting her again. "Or else you'll _never _get me!"

She got up, avoiding his next hit, and tried to get him. She barely put any force into it, it was more like a tap.

"Kooks, you gotta hit a lot harder than that!" he advised. "What are ya, a weakling?"

"I…I don't know how to hit! I'm not a fighter like you are!"

"You're hitting me with a _pillow. _You can hit me as hard as you can and it's not gonna hurt." He put his arms up, dropping his pillows. "C'mon," he challenged her. "Hit me as hard as you can. Pretend I'm Todd, or Brooke, or somebody stupid like that. Give me all you got!"

"Are you…Are you sure I won't hurt you?" she asked, growing shy again.

"Kooks, I've been smacked in the face before and it didn't hurt. At least, not that much."

"Who smacked you in the face?!?!?"

"Don't worry, Kuki! I just beat up this girl's boyfriend before and she smacked me. That was two years ago. Now c'mon, give me your best shot!"

"Well, okay…." She brought up her pillow, and hit with him with all her might.

"AHH! Kooks, that HURT!" he exclaimed, dropping to the floor. "Oh, my stomach!"

"Wally!" She dropped to her knees, her face etched with worry. "I'm sorry Wally! Are you hurt???"

He gave her a toothy grin, and picked up a pillow right beside them. "Gotcha!" He hit with it, and got back up on his feet. "You hit me pretty good there! Now c'mon! _Bring it on!_"

"Wally!" She pretended to be mad at him, and got up with _two _pillows this time. "You tricked me!"

"You gotta play dirty to win! Now take that!" he hit her again, and jumped back as if they were boxing. "You can't take me!"

"Yes. I. Can!" she said, hitting him with each word. "I'll get you for that, Wally!"

"Ha ha ha! Now that's the spirit! Take this!"

"Then take that!"

"That all you got, 'cause I'm just getting started!"

"So am I!"

Soon there was pillow fluff everywhere from hitting each other with the pillows. They laughed to whole time, but soon grew worn out from all the physical exercise from hitting and dodging from one another.

"Ugh!" Wally exclaimed, collapsing on the blankets. "That was _brutal. _I gotta take a break."

"Yeah, me too," Kuki said, laying down next to him. "That was so much fun, though. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun. This was the best date _ever._"

"Yeah…" he said. "We need to go on dates more often. They're the best."

They scooted closer to one another, and Wally wrapped his arms around her again, holding her close. She laid her head on his chest.

_Ba-bum ba-bum ba-bum ba-bum _Kuki heard. "Hey Wally, I can hear your heart beating," she said, listening closely.

"You can?" He blushed.

_I've never held her this close to me…laying down before…._he thought, his face growing more red. _I….I kinda like it….._

"Yeah….And it's beating really really fast!" she exclaimed. "Are you really that exhausted from the pillow fight? It's beating so fast!"

He gulped. "Uh….Yeah, that's it!" he said. "That's why, heh heh heh…." He was perfectly fine if she didn't know that it was actually _her _that was making his heart run a mile a minute.

"Do you…wanna go to sleep?" She hoped she didn't. She wasn't tired yet, and wanted to be with him more.

"What? No," he assured her. "Let's just….talk, or something…." He started stroking her hair long hair, letting it fall through his fingers. It just felt so smooth and silky! He loved her hair. "You know, there's something….._different _about you tonight. I don't know what it is….It's like, you aren't acting as shy around me anymore. You seem more….._relaxed_."

"That's because I _am _relaxed when I'm with you," she said, her voice soft and angelic. She started tracing a circle on his chest. "I'm not afraid of you, and I can be myself when I'm with you. I don't feel quite as shy with you anymore. I mean, I still am, but….I'm more comfortable…"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah…." Her cheeks were tinted red. How many times was she going to blush around him? "I can't even begin to describe to you…..You can't even imagine….How happy you've made me, Wally. I'm happiest when I'm with you…..I've never felt so wonderful….I made a wish at the beginning of the year, saying that I hoped something different would happen to me, that maybe I would make a friend…But I got something even better than that…I got you."

"Kuki…." He didn't know what to say. Everything she was saying to him, he felt the exact same way about her. Now his heart wasn't just running, it was practically _flying_.

"I love everything about you Wally," she said, her heart flying just like his. "You're everything I'm not. You're bold, and courageous. You know what you want in life. You're confident. And you're the toughest guy I've ever met. But….underneath all that toughness….You've got a big heart…"

_Me? A big heart? _he pondered. _I have a big heart?_

"And you've been so kind and loving to me…..No one has ever been so nice to me before, Wally. While most people are telling me I'm a terrible, hated person, you're trying to convince me that I'm not. While most people like to hit and shove me, you just hold me close, and hug me…and kiss me…"

"That's because I would _never _hurt you, Kuki…" he said. _"Ever. _Not even if someone paid me a _billion _dollars for it."

"I know…." she said, nuzzling his neck. "I love you, Wally. I love you more than anyone else in the entire world. You're my hero."

"Your….Your hero?"

"Yeah…My knight in shining armor. You saved me when no one else would. You protected me. You're my hero, Wally. You always will be."

His heart melted. "Kuki….I….I love you too….And…..I don't know what else to say….."

"You don't have to say anything, Wally….Nothing at all…"

He brought his head close to her, and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "Goodnight, Kuki," he said lovingly, stroking her hair.

"Goodnight, Wally…."

And they fell asleep in each other's arms. They had never had a better nights sleep. It was heaven.

Because they were with each other.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Wow…..I hope you guys love this as much as I do. I worked on this for hours. **


	18. Wally Vs Todd

**Here we are…Chapter 18.…Wowie! And once again, great supportive reviews from everybody! YAY! :D The reviews always make my day a good one! Love it love it love it!**

**Well, here's chapter 18! Time for Wally to finally kick some butt! But I'll start off on the morning after the sleepover, just for fun, and then get to the main plot, which I will reveal a secret in how Brooke and Todd got together.**

**And Wally uses language in this chapter. I didn't want him to, but it seemed appropriate for his emotions. More realistic. Please keep in mind I don't cuss a ton, I'm just doing this because it's something a lot of other people do. No big deal.**

**One last thing…I've never written a fight scene, so it may suck.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own KND…And I never will! T_T Waaaaah!**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 18

Wally vs. Todd

But before that, I present….

Bonus Section!!!!!

The following morning…

Sunlight poured out the window, and went across Kuki's face and into her eyes. She opened them, and blinked slowly.

"Urgh…" she muttered, taking in her surroundings, momentarily forgetting where she was. Wide open room, green couch, tan carpeting, Native Australian pictures…..

Then she noticed the arm wrapped around her, and the pillows and blankets, and remembered where she was. Events from the night before flashed through her mind. The movies, the photo booth, the stars, kissing Wally, the pillow fight….

_Oh, that's right! _she remembered. _I slept over at Wally's house!_

Turning to her right, she stared at her boyfriend's face. He had a peaceful look about him, snoring very lightly. He looked so handsome, his hair all messy from sleep. It was so cute! He was snoring very lightly, his head turned toward her.

Very carefully, she lifted herself off the makeshift bed on the floor, gingerly taking his arm off her and quickly replacing herself with a pillow. Wally suddenly wrapped both arms around the pillow, holding it against his chest. She grinned at her success.

_I think I'll make him a nice breakfast! _she thought cheerily, tiptoeing her way around him.

"Chase…Matt…We gotta…finish our science projects……." he muttered, clearly dreaming about his friends and something that had happened to them in the past. "Only….two more days to do it…..Stupid report……."

Kuki laughed softly to herself. _Silly Wally…..Hope you get the project done in time! _And with that she quietly made her way to the kitchen, and started searching around for something to make. She let out a "Yes!" when she found everything she needed for pancakes. _I wonder what kind of pancakes he likes…?_

She walked back to him to wake him up, but stopped to listen to Wally, whose dream had changed dramatically since she left.

"Kuki…"

Her eyes widened, surprised he was talking about her. She wanted to go wake him up, but….

"Kooks…"

She found herself rooting for him in her thoughts to say more.

"Pizza…"

Pizza?!?!? What the heck? Wasn't he talking about her.

"Gimme a piece….Mmm…That's good……" He started smacking his lips, as if he were chewing.

"Delicious….Mmmmm…..You want some, Kooks? Here……Tastes…..so good…"

Oh, so she _was _still in the dream! And obviously, they were in a pizza shop. Umberto's, perhaps?

"You look so pretty….Beautiful, really….."

Even though it wasn't really happened, she reddened anyway. After all, technically he was calling her pretty, and as everyone already knew, she wasn't used to being complimented on her looks.

She walked over to him, and got on her knees, looking at his face. "Wally…?" She muttered.

"Yes?" He was still dreaming.

"Where are we?"

"Umberto's….You know that, silly sheila…"

"Why?"

"Second…Anniversary…"

"Anniversary?!?!?"

"Been dating for two years…"

"Oh! I see…." She smiled at the prospect of that, and giggled at what she was doing. _I really shouldn't be doing this! This could be a private dream!_

"Love ya, Kooks….." He said. "Happy….Anniversary…"

She paused at that. _He just said he loved me. AGAIN! _Her smile was as big as an upside-down rainbow. "I love you too, Wally….Happy Anniversary."

And then he did the funniest thing ever. He held the pillow more tightly, put his face towards it…

And started kissing it.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She tried to hide the urge to laugh, but…..

"Ha ha ha!!!!" she said, hugging herself and falling on her back. Her Wally, her tough, manly Wally, was kissing a pillow! It was also very sweet, but she only thought that for a moment before laughing again.

Wally's eyes burst open, and found himself staring at the very lovely pillow. "Huh…?" he asked, suddenly confused, and gasped. "YOU'RE NOT KUKI!" He threw the fluffy thing away, as if disgusted by it, and turned to her. "Kooks? Why are ya laughing? Where the crud where you? Weren't ya sleepin' next to me?"

She calmed herself, now only giggling. "Y-Yes, I was….I got up early. I came back her to ask you what kind of pancakes you wanted, because I was going to make you breakfast, but…" She started feeling ashamed of herself. Who was she to be listening to him while he was unconscious.

"I-I'm sorry, Wally. I-I shouldn't have listened to you sleep-talking…"

"Sleep-talking?" His eyes grew as big as plates. "I was sleep-talkin'? What did I say?"

"Um…." She rubbed her hands together. "N-Nothing much, really….You were talking to Chase and Matt about finishing a science project…"

"Anything else?"

"Well, you did say a couple other things. Nothing important, really, no big deal. You shouldn't worry about it."

"Did I say anything…" he gulped. "Anything…Um…About you?"

"A-A-About m-me? No…Well, there was this one little thing…."

"What?" He looked like he was about to freak out.

"W-Well…..You said something about how it was…um…our second anniversary…And that you loved me…and then you started kissing the pillow…"

"OH CRUD!" He collapsed on the blankets, his hands covering his face. "You weren't supposed to hear that!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry Wally!" she said, feeling absolutely terrible. "I just couldn't help it! You started saying my name, and I got curious….I'm so sorry…."

Wally sighed, and righted himself up again. "Aw, it's okay, Kooks. No need to feel bad. It's just….Well, crud! It's just embarrassing! Pretend you never heard that, okay?"

"O-Okay…I promise." Although she knew in her heart she never would forget it.

"Good." He grinned. "Now, what were ya sayin' about pancakes?"

END BONUS

* * *

Life had not been easy lately for a certain mister Todd Crawford.

First of all, the big black eye that Wally had awarded him had been a huge embarrassment, something he couldn't escape. It stared at him every time he looked in the mirror, and shamed him. People would stare at it, and whisper to each other, saying how gutsy that Beetles kid had been for landing a blow on Todd's handsome face. He often scowled at them, warning them not to mess with him. He was _not _in the mood for it.

Football had also proved to be a little more challenging than usual. After Brooke's party the coach had given the team a powerful, angry speech on how if he caught any of the team drinking or acting like idiots again, then their football career would be over. He also decided that they needed more discipline, and had been making them work three times as hard as usual. By the time practice was over, every fiber of Todd's body ached and pulsated with pain.

And, of course, his girlfriend was Brooke Sanders. He loved the girl, he really did, but she was always complaining about _something_.

And to top all that off, school just made things worse. Coach had already once again threatened to kick him off the team if his grades didn't get better. And his parents weren't very happy either. The following Monday morning, he had already been grounded for a week. He still had another week to go.

At least his eye was back to normal again.

But his morning was already getting off to a bad start.

"I can't believe this!" Brooke ranted, gripping her notebooks so hard her fingers were white. "Kuki and Wally are _still _together! How could this be?!?!? I thought I had taken care of it already! I totally had Kuki scared out of her wits the other day! She was _supposed _to break up with him by telling him she would just bring him down with her! What the hell happened? I mean, _look at them!_"

She pointed to the happy couple, who were sitting under their tree, backs against the bark, waiting for the bell to go off. Wally's arm was around her, Kuki leaning her side against him. They were chatting about something, a smile on their faces.

"That was _not _what was supposed to happen!" she said, stomping her foot. She growled.

Delilah put her hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sorry, Brooke!" she said. "It was such a good plan! I don't know why it didn't work!"

"It _was _good, wasn't it?" she replied, crossing her arms.

"It was!" Delilah encouraged her. ."And I'm sure whatever you come up with next will be even better!"

"Yeah….My next plan….I'll have to think of something else…" Brooke said. "Something better. Something bigger. I don't know what, but I'll have to think of something. But _gawd! _What the hell is making them so close??? Breaking them up is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done!"

"Don't worry Babe," Todd said, yawning. "You're a diabolical genius. I have no doubt that you'll think of something great."

She wrapped her arms around him in a grateful hug, grinning at the compliment. "Thank you, Toddy! I know I can always count on you to make me feel better! Are you still grounded, sweetie?" she cooed. "Because I was hoping you and I could…"

"Sorry, B. I'm still serving my sentence, and even so, I got practice today, and coach is gonna be on the ball today. We're going against the Millville High Eagles this Friday. We gotta win that or coach will roast us alive."

She whimpered, while all the others left the couple so they could be alone. Brooke didn't like it when you stuck around while she was being all lovey-dovey.

"But _Toddy_, we haven't done _anything _in _forever!_"

"I know, hon," Todd said, giving her a hug. "I miss you too, but you know if I do anything I shouldn't coach and my family will have my ass."

"It's not fair!" she whined. "The two people I hate most (A/N Kuki and Wally of course) spend all day together! Why can't we?"

"Well, you have to remember, babe," Todd said, lifting her face up. "We actually _have _lives. _They_," he said, his voice clearly disgusted, "do not. All they have is each other. Of course, once you're done with them they won't even have that, will they?" He gave her an evil smile, her favorite one. She gave him one back, one equally as fierce.

"You bet! You and I both will both have our revenge!"

"Exactly!" He gave her a lingering kiss on the lips. "And I promise," he said, taking his lips off hers, "that when all this torture is over with, we'll definitely spend some time together, just you and me. Deal?"

"Deal!" she answered, kissing him again. "There's nothing I like more then being with you and torturing my enemies!"

"Same here, babe. Same here."

They were perfect together.

* * *

As if the quarterback didn't already have enough to deal with, his English class didn't make it any easier for him.

Now, English was always a more tolerable class. It was a class where you could be more sociable, and was sometimes way more interesting than math, science, or history.

But it was still a class, which meant it still had unpleasant qualities that students often found annoying and exasperating.

For example, essays were not a favorite aspect of English.

"Now, as I informed you last week, your essay on _To Kill A Mockingbird _is due tomorrow," his teacher informed the class, straightening her crooked glasses. She was probably the ugliest woman Todd had ever laid his eyes on. She had a long crooked nose where her chained glasses perched, her eyes milky and blue. Her wrinkles stretched and strained against her skin when she moved her big, pink fish lips to talk, and had a body that seemed to have no shape under the huge grandma sweaters complete with jean skirts. Her white blue-tinted hair was pulled back in a tight bun. Todd wondered how she got lucky enough to find a husband.

"Um, I'm sorry, did you say essay, ma'am?" Todd said, his head snapping up from his desk. "I didn't know we had an essay due!"

"Well, frankly I'm not surprised, Mr. Crawford, as you have been sleeping during my class since the very moment we have begun our unit on _To Kill A Mockingbird. _Tell me, young man, did you even bother to read the book?"

_Have you ever bothered to shave off that hair on your mole? _He thought nastily, frowning. "Of _course _I read it, Mrs. Carson," he said, pretending to suck up to her. "How could I not? I'll have that essay written for you, I can assure you. I promise."

Mrs. Carson huffed, her fleshy sausage lips in a grimace. "I should hope so, Mr. Crawford, as your grade is going down the deep end. And if I'm correct, the football coach doesn't like slackers."

"Of course he doesn't, and I'll be sure to show you _and _Coach that I am, indeed, not a slacker." He grinned.

_That report will be done all right…_He thought. _I just won't be the author._

* * *

He knew he could get her to do it. It was so easy to get her to do what he wanted. He often didn't encounter her alone, but he knew if he wanted to make sure to get an A worthy report written in one day, he had to be menacing.

He remembered the first day he got her to do something for him.

Flashback

_Brooke Sanders was so beautiful on the first day of high school. The sun was especially bright that day, and the shining sunlight bathing on her hair, her skin, her face…It made her look even more like an angel._

_He wanted her. He wanted her so bad. _

_For three years he had watched her. He spent three years learning everything about her, three years of desperately trying to get her attention. It was exhausting, exhilarating, heart-wrenching._

_He would get her this year. He would do everything. He would join the football team. He would make himself popular._

"_**She will **__notice me," Todd muttered to himself, putting his glasses into the case that he had stuffed into his pockets. Thank goodness for contacts. "She __**will **__be mine."_

_But how?_

_Todd had developed a terrible habit of eavesdropping on his crush. He didn't consider himself a stalker, really. He was just interested in what Brooke had to say, and thought that maybe if he spied on her, he would get some pointers on how to win her heart. _

_After the bell had rung the harmonious tune of dismissal for the day, Todd had almost turned around the corner of the hallway when he heard Brooke's angelic voice reverberating off the school walls._

"_I can't believe this!" she complained. Even though her voice was high pitched and whiny, Todd thought he could listen to it all day. "I mean, we just got here, and the teacher already gave us homework?!?!? Where is the justice in this?"_

"_I agree with you!" Delilah said. "I mean, this is totally unfair. You are so right, Brooke." The other girls agreed._

"_I know! And I don't have time to do this!" Brooke threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "I'm throwing a back-to-school bash tonight! How can that stupid teacher expect me to do my homework when I already have plans?!?"_

"_I know!"_

"_Totally!"_

"_This homework is going to take forever!"_

"_What if you got someone else to do it for you?" Todd spoke, stepping out of his hiding place. He quickly covered his mouth, realizing he had just revealed himself. Not only that, but now she would know that he had been eavesdropping?"_

"_Hm?" Brooke asked, startled for a moment. She looked his way, and Todd's heart almost burst. The last time she looked his way was when his pen broke during civics and the ink splashed all over him in the seventh grade. It was the most embarrassing moment of his life. "Who are you?"_

_**Of course she doesn't remember me,**__ he thought, not surprised. __**She's so popular…How can she remember everybody?**_

"_Todd," he said, his voice a little high from nervousness. "Todd Crawford. We've had some classes together."_

_**And I almost failed all of them from looking at you.**_

"_Oh, yeah!" she said, smirking. "You're Ink Guy!"_

_A blush overtook Todd's face. "Heh heh…" He laughed nervously, sticking his sweaty hands in his pockets. "Y-Yeah, that's me."_

_She laughed. "I remember that so well. Your face was covered in black!" Her friends burst out in laughter. _

_He wished an anvil would fall on top of him._

"_A-A-Anyways," he said, trying to change the subject, "As I was saying, if you can't do your homework, you should have someone else do it for you."_

"_Oh?" She furrowed her eyebrows, her plumped lips curving into a delicious smile. "Are you saying you'll do it for me?"_

_This caught him off guard. "M-Me? Oh, no no no, you don't want me!" he said. "You want A material, right? You want your answers to be right so the teacher thinks you're smart, right?"_

"_Are you saying that you don't think I'm smart? That I need someone to do my work for me in order to pass?" She looked ticked off._

_He almost fainted. "No! That's not what I was saying!" he protested, desperately trying to save himself. "It's just you want the teacher to know you're smart without actually doing the work, right?"_

"_Go on…" She was interested in what he had to say._

"_Well, I know how much you hate that girl Kuki…."_

"_Kuki? As in, Kuki Sanban? HA! Everybody hates her!" she said._

"_Exactly!" he said. "Me too! But she's also smart….And I could get her to do your homework for you."_

"_You could?" _

"_S-Sure," he said, attempting to look nonchalant, leaning against the locker like he had seen the popular guys do. "It'd be a piece of cake."_

"_Really? You'd do that more moi?"_

_He smiled sheepishly. "I'd do __**anything **__for you, Brooke."_

_She sauntered up to him, batting her eyelashes. She got up close, and laid her fingers on his chest. "Really? Is that really true, Toddy?"_

_**Toddy. Toddy. Toddy…..**_

_She had a nickname for him._

"_Y-Y-Yes…." Sweat began to bead on his skin._

"_Alright," she said, giving him the homework. "Get her to do this for me, and bring it to the party tonight when she's done. And after that…You could stay awhile, if you want…."_

_His heart leapt in victory. __**Yes! **__he thought, wanting to shout for joy. __**I'm in!**_

"_I'll have it to you by eight."_

_----------------------------_

_**Target found…**__He thought, finding his victim by her locker, bent down on the floor picking up the books she had dropped. He felt as if he were a hired killer stalking his prey. _

"_Oh…." Kuki muttered to herself, distressed. "I'm so late…If I don't get home and start dinner for Mushi, she's going to be angry…" she said, stuffing the books in her bag. "After all, I have to make so much food since all her friends are coming over…"_

_Todd wouldn't have been surprised if they were the only two students left in the building. All the buses had left, and the administration and the janitors were on the other side of the school. Cornering her wouldn't be a problem. _

"_Hello, Kuki…" Todd spoke, stepping out of his hiding space. "I've been looking for you. I need you to do something for me."_

_Kuki's head swiveled her head his direction, jumping in surprise. "H-Huh?"_

"_Hey. You know who I am, right?" His voice was low, his voice fake with friendliness. _

_She stared at the floor, eyes furrowed in thought. Who was he…? Who was he…?_

"_T-Todd? Todd C-Crawford?"_

_**Of course the biggest loser in school remembers my name….Ugh….**_

"_So you __**do **__remember me! How nice." He walked closer to her, friendly and menacing at the same time. Kuki didn't know whether to be scared or calm._

"_Hey, you don't have any friends, right?"_

_Her face flinched at the cold, hard truth. "Umm…." Shame and loneliness overtook her. Second by second, she was getting more and more vulnerable. "I…I…..Yes…" Her head dropped in defeat._

"_I thought so. After all, everyone's always mean to you. They hurt you, insult you, make you feel like shit. Am I right?"_

"_Y-Yes?" She was so confused. Exactly what was Todd's motive here? He couldn't possibly just be striking up conversation! And he did say he wanted something…._

"_Well, if I were in your position, I'd be sure to do anything and everything to make the people around me happy. Everyone knows the happier you make somebody, the more they'll like you."_

"_W-W-What do you suggest I do?" He was giving her advice?_

"_Well, for starters, you could start doing favors for them. And I already know something you can do, right now, to get you on the right track."_

_Her head popped back up, interested. "You do? What is it? Will it really help?"_

_Todd laughed in his head. __**She's so desperate! She's so easy to crack! **_

_He knew there was no way that doing this one little thing for Brooke was going to make her liked any more than she was now. There was nothing the pathetic loser could do to improve. But that didn't matter to him. As long as he benefited from her, then he was happy. And wasn't that what really mattered?_

"_Oh, definitely," he lied, his smile very close to being a smirk. "And all you have to do is a little homework. And guess who's it is?"_

"_Who?"_

"_It belongs to none other than the illustrious, gorgeous Brooke Sanders."_

_Kuki let out a gasp, her hands covering her small mouth. "B-B-Brooke?!?!? She….She wants me to d-do her homework for her?!?"_

"_That's what I said."_

"_But….But why? Why does she want __**me **__to do it?"_

"_She's having a party tonight. She can't do it. And she thought you were the right person for the job."_

_Kuki was terrified. __**If I get an answer wrong, or get her a low grade, **__she thought, panicking, __**who knows what she'll do to me? No, I don't want to!**_

"_Uh….Um….I-I would r-really l-love to…." she said…_

_Before she could finish, Todd had shoved the homework into her hands. "Great!" he said. "Have it done by 7:30, and meet me by Brooke's house."_

_She looked at the enormous packet in her hands. It had to be five pages long. __**I don't have time to do this! I have to cook Mushi and her friends dinner, then go to work at the flower shop, and do my math homework, and…**_

"_I-I'm s-sorry," she apologized, giving him back the homework. "I…I can't."_

_Todd narrowed his eyes and frowned. "Excuse me?" That was NOT the answer he was looking for._

"_I…I have too much to do tonight. I have to make dinner and work and do my math and….I'm t-truly sorry…I can't…"_

_Before she knew it he had pushed her against the locker, his hands grabbing her shoulders tightly._

"_Listen here, you little outcast," he threatened, his voice menacing and venomous. "I've worked too hard and too long to wait any longer for Brooke to notice me. This is the only way I can get to that party of hers and actually get to talk to her. You know, I've been training over the summer to try out for football. I'm really muscular now…." _

_His face was now inches away from her, his teeth grit. Kuki was shaking with terror, her eyes wide with fear. _

"_Most guys think hitting girls is wrong. But guess what?"_

_He threw her onto the floor. _

"_I don't think it's wrong. I think if girls can hit guys, then why not the other way around. If the girl deserves it, then shouldn't she get hit? I think so."_

"_P-P-Please!" She begged, shaking so hard that it seemed she no longer had any control over her body. "P-P-Please don't hurt me! I'll do it! I'll have done! I p-promise! Just please!" She started to sob. "P-Please don't hurt me…."_

_He smiled a toothy grin. "Now was that so hard?" he asked her, watching her lift herself from the floor. He threw the homework by the floor._

"_I'm glad we could sort things out."_

End flashback

------------------------

That night he had giving Brooke the homework, and she received an A+. He and Brooke hooked up the very next day.

Who knew that Kuki actually had a part in getting the most evil couple in the entire school together?

He had threatened her to do things for him many times after that. His threats had worked so many times. She was so weak, so pathetic.

And he was going to do it again.

* * *

Of course, Kuki never saw it coming.

The weekend had been pure and utter bliss. She was so happy she felt that she was stepping on clouds. Nine of them, to be exact. (A/N Get it?? XD lol)

She even hummed a happy little tune on her way to classes, confusing all her classmates. Why in the world was she so happy?

""Walkin' on sunshine," she sang to herself. "Oh I'm walkin' on sunshine, woa-oh…"

_I can't remember the last time I was so happy! _she thought, giggling to herself. _I'm singing to myself, for crying out loud!_ She actually seemed more like her ten-year-old self, as rare as it seemed. She would always be shy and quiet, but that didn't mean she had changed completely. Her old self showed when it wanted to.

When she was happiest.

But Kuki was so fragile, so easy to frighten, easy to break. She was just like a prized set of fine china.

Everyone knew this.

Todd knew this.

And he was right behind a tree outside, like a tiger waiting patiently for his prey. And she fell into his trap as she was about to pass.

"Hey, Kuki."

She froze in her steps. Just like in the perfect horror movie, the villain was covered in shadows, until he took a few steps toward her. "How're you?"

She gulped. "T-T-T…."

"Todd. It's Todd, you idiot. Remember?"

She just nodded her head, and he watched her scanning the hallways, looking for somebody. Wally, perhaps?

No, there was no escape, and no one to save her. Wally had went home, to watch Joey.

"What, no Wally to save you? I'm sorry. That must be so inconvenient for you."

"W-W-What do you want Todd?" She started to shake, just like she did every time Todd confronted her alone.

"I don't think I like that tone, outcast," he said, gritting his teeth. "You already know my philosophy on hitting women. You really sure you wanna push me like that?"

"S-S-Sorry, I'm s-sorry!" she quickly corrected, desperately trying to keep her from being pummeled to the ground. "I m-meant to say….W-What would you like me to do for you, Todd?"

Kuki was so terrified. of Todd. Out of everyone in the school, she was afraid of him the most when it came to physical pain. He had hit her before; and she didn't want him to hit her any worse than he already had. She even grew scared for Brooke when she would hear rumors of them fighting. She never knew if he had hit her.

She didn't know that she was the only girl that Todd had ever hit.

He grinned slyly. "Much better," he said. "You know, the work I want you to do isn't really all that bad. It's just a little essay, is all."

"A-An essay? On what?"

"A book. _To Kill a Mockingbird._"

"_To Kill a Mockingbird?_"

"That's what I said. Now will you do it for me, or are we gonna have to do it the hard way?" He walked a few steps toward her, intimidating her. Kuki took a few steps back, almost stumbling from her quivering body.

"T-Todd, y-you know I would usually do y-your h-homework for you, but…." Kuki knew any excuse was hopeless, but she couldn't do the work.

"But what?" His voice took on a more malicious sound, and his eyes seemed to glitter from anger. "But what, Kuki?" He inched closer to her, and Kuki, backing up a little more, suddenly found herself against another tree.

"M-My c-class h-hasn't read that yet," she explained. Her voice was high, her eyes growing watery.

_What is he going to do to me?_

"Liar!" he barked, grabbing the collar of her green shirt, pushing her against the tree's cracked, rough bark. "Everyone knows that every English class is reading that!"

"My teacher decided to have us read _Of Mice and Men _first!" She started to feel woozy with fear, and was afraid that she might collapse unconscious.

_Who knows what he would do to me if I did that?!?!? _She wondered if death were a better option then that possibility.

"Well, _I don't care!_" he practically yelled. "Here's the thing, you worthless little idiot: You do what I tell you to, and you stay in one piece. I don't give a damn if you stay all night reading the book and then writing the essay! And I don't want a standard C from you! If I don't get a beautiful A on that paper, then _you're done for!_"

Before he had a chance to say anymore, an orange blur raced across Kuki's vision, and Todd was sent tumbling to the grown.

"THREATEN HER AGAIN, PUNK! I DARE YA!"

Wally was on his knees, and this time it was Todd's neck collar being clutched. Wally's face was twisted in a horrible scowl, so enraged his face was crimson with anger.

"Wallabee Beetles…" Todd said in distaste, wanting to spit. "Should've known Kuki's little bodyguard would come to save the day. Does she pay you to look after her all day?"

"SHUT UP YOU DICK!" he screamed. "You freakin' well that isn't true! How dare you touch her like that! What were you gonna do to her, huh? Slap her? Punch her? Kick her? Did you think I was gonna let you get away with it? Huh? DID YOU?!?"

"I hadn't decided yet," he said, growling.

"Well it doesn't matter, because I'm gonna _kick your ass_!" He sprang up to the ground, and Todd did the same.

"Not if I kick yours first!" Todd spat, and tried to land a punch on Wally's face.

But Wally used to be the best fighter in Sector V, the greatest group of the Kids Next Door at the time. He wasn't going to go down that easy.

The Australian then tried to punch him back, missed, and quickly switched arms and went for his stomach. It hit right on target, causing Todd to bend over clutching his stomach.

"You….Son of a bitch!" he said, grimacing.

"Leave my mother outta this!" Wally was about to hit him again when suddenly he felt an excruciating pain in between his legs.

"AAAH!" He screamed, trying not to fall to the ground from the pain. If he landed on the ground, Todd could gain an advantage.

"WALLY! Stop! Please!" Kuki begged, frozen in place.

"Stay outta this, bitch, and watch me take down your precious bodyguard!"

Wally was quick to ignore the pain. "Bitch?!?!? You call Kuki a bitch?!?!? BROOKE'S THE BITCH! YOU LEAVE MY KUKI ALONE!"

"WHY YOU….!"

The two engraged, passionate teenagers lunged for each other, once again returning to the ground, wrestling. Kuki wanted to scream for help; she desperately wished for them to just stop.

"Wally, please! You'll get hurt!" She was so scared for him. She had seen fights before, but never one that included the person she loved more than anyone in the entire world.

Once again, her words weren't heard.

Wally managed to get a hold of Todd first, and managed to finally punch him, this time in the nose. Blood gushed out of his nose.

"By nose!" he screamed.

Using the strength Todd had gained in endless hours of football and the anger welling inside him, he managed to lift his body a few inches from the ground and slamming his enemy into the grass, holding him down.

"This is for Brooke!" He balled his fist, crushing it onto Wally's right eye. It immediately turned to dark shade of bluish-purple.

He raised his fist and quickly sent it towards his other eye, but Wally caught his arm before he could land a blow.

"You stole her food…." he began, his voice a low growl. "You called her names. You treated her like trash…" His voice got louder and louder as he went. "And now you're THREATENING HER?!?!? Have you hurt her before?!?"

"You'd hurt Brooke if you wanted to!"

"No I wouldn't! Unlike you, I'm a man, thank you! I don't hit girls, no matter how bitchy they are!"

Todd tried to get up from the ground, but Wally held him down. He was just way too strong and muscular for him.

"But _you _would hurt a girl, because you're weak and spineless! You're a pathetic excuse for a human being!"

"LET ME GO OR I'LL…"

"You'll what? Threaten me? Hurt me? YOU THINK I CARE? 'Cause I don't! You hurt Kuki, and that's all that matters to me! You've ALWAYS HURT HER! And damnit, I ain't gonna let you get away with it!"

Wally had had enough. He was angry, and he wanted to settle this.

Letting go of his arm, Wally grabbed a hold of Todd's shirt once again and gathered him in a headlock.

"Hey, lemme go!" He objected, squirming and shaking, trying to get out of Wally's hold on him.

"NEVAH!" he screamed, sounding very valiant. "And now, Todd, I'm gonna give you the beating of your LIFE!"

Kuki had to look away from the rapid punching being unleashed onto Todd's face by Wally's unforgiving fist. Each sound from the impact made her flinch, and she shut her eyes tight, with no desire to see the blood and bruises covering Todd's face.

When the sounds of punching and fighting seemed to finally stop, Kuki dared to open one of her eyes to look at the result of Wally's fury.

Todd was battered. His clothes were torn, his body cringing in pain, unable to get up from the ground. His face, his once beautiful face, was covered in ruby blood, gobs of it streaming out his broken nose. Both of his eyes were now blackened. Red scratches, some of them adding to the already massive amount of blood on his face, were bleeding as well. It was covered in bruises, and it was hard to make out his handsome features.

"Ugh! Ow! Ahh….." He moaned, his eyes shut tight, teeth grit from all the pain.

Wally, of course, did not suffer as much. Todd _had _managed to get a few bruises and scratches on him, with only one cut bleeding across his forehead.

Wally stood up, and rubbed his hands together to remove the dirt that had caked upon it.

His eyes then made contact with Kuki's, and his angry face immediately changed to a concerned one.

"Kuki, did he hurt you? Are you okay?"

Unable to speak, she just shook her head yes. Wally sighed, relieved.

"You're lucky you didn't hurt her, Todd, or I'd have beaten you ten times harder." He turned his face back to him, angry again.

Trying to ignore the pain, Todd replied, "I'll get you for this Beetles…When Brooke hears of this…."

Wally snorted. "Hmph! You call yourself a man? Threatening to use your girlfriend as a weapon against me? You're pathetic." He kicked dust across Todd's face, making him cough. "First of all, if you want to be a man, Todd, and I mean _really _be a man, don't kick an enemy in his sensitive spots. That shows signs of weakness. Only a real man fights with his fists, unless he's in danger."

"Second of all, men don't hit women. That's just plain wrong, and sick. Third of all, a real man doesn't use his girlfriend as a threat. That just makes you seem feeble."

His lips formed a nasty smirk.

"Of course, you've always been weak, haven't you Todd? You're not a man; you're just a wimp that pretends to be one. That's all you'll ever be."

"I'll get you Beetles!"

Wally laughed. "Yeah, good luck on that." He then walked over to Kuki.

"Kooks, you think you could clean this scratch up for me?" he asked. "It's bleeding kinda hard."

She gulped. "S-Sure…" she said. "W-What a-about T-T…"

"He'll be fine," he said, waving it off. "Brooke will be around soon, 'cause the cheerleaders are practicing in the gym right now. She'll find him eventually."

"Oh…" she said, glancing at Todd. As much as she disliked him, the inner nurturer inside of her wanted to clean him up.

Wally noticed, and just shook his head. _Kooks, you are just way too nice, _he thought affectionately.

"C'mon, Kuki. Let's go."

* * *

"Ah, ah, AH! That stings!" Wally complained, his eyes wincing at the liquid Kuki was using to clean the cut on his forehead. They both sat on the floor of the hangout, where she had always kept a first-aid kit.

"Th-That means it's healing," Kuki said, gently dabbing the cut with some gauze. "It's a good thing."

Wally scanned over her with his eyes, taking notice of her stuttering. That was the first sign that something was wrong. Her eyes and face seemed troubled, her face pale, and her hands were slightly shaky.

"Kooks?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

She bit her lip. _He knows me so well! _she thought. Usually she would be happy thinking this, but for now, she didn't want him to know she was unhappy.

"I'm fine," she lied, now pretending to be very intent on cleaning his cut.

"Don't lie to me," he said. "I just kicked Todd's butt for you. I think I deserve the truth. Did I…Did I scare you?"

"What? N-No…"

"Kuki, don't lie to me! I scared you! Listen, I promise, I've only ever hit guys, I would _never _hit girls, especially not you!" he said desperately.

"H-Huh?" She was surprised. "You think…You think I'm afraid you'll hurt me?"

"Well, yeah…That's it, isn't it?"

"Wally, no!" She put her first aid kit aside, and laid her hands on her legs, which were crossed Indian-style.

"I'm not afraid _of _you! I'm afraid _for _you!"

"Huh? What the crud do you mean by that?"

"Wally, I was so scared when I saw you fighting Todd! Do you know how strong he is?!?!? I had never seen you fight before, so I didn't know that you were stronger than him! I was so afraid that he would hurt you much worse than he did! Why did you do it, Wally?!?!? Why did you fight him like that?!? You could've gotten seriously hurt!"

"What?" he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You actually wish I _didn't _fight him?!?"

"Yes! That way you wouldn't have put yourself at risk like that!"

"I can't believe this!" He felt angry, unappreciated. "I fought him for _you_, Kuki. If I hadn't, he would've hurt you! What kind of a guy lets his girlfriend get hurt?!?!?"

"Then you should've just defended me and we could've run away! There was no need to fight!"

"You KNOW I'm a fighter, Kuki!" he replied. "You know that it's my way of defending myself, and the ones I care about! Why the crud are you getting so mad at me?!? I _saved _you! You should be happy that I beat up that maggot for you!"

"But he could've…""But he didn't! You saw me fight him! He was no match for me! All I got were a couple of scratches and bruises! You're being ridiculous! You're being a…a…a cruddy sissy girl!"

"But Wally!"

"But nothing!" He stared at her intently, frowning, his eyes slanted. "I did what I had to do! Yeah, I guess we could've run away like a couple of scared rabbits, but in case you haven't noticed, that's not the way I do things! I _hate _running away! I deal with things with my fist! That's how I've always done that! And….I thought you knew that. I thought you'd be happy that I defended you."

"But I don't want you to be hurt because of me, Wally!" she said, devastated. "I'm not worth it! I'm not worth fighting for!"

He just stared at her, incredulous.

"W-What? Why are you staring at me like that?" She tried to avoid his gaze, rubbing her arm, nervous.

"You're not worth it? You still think you're not worth it? After all the times I've told you how awesome I think you are? How talented you are? How lovable you are? You _still _think you're not worth fighting for?"

She couldn't bring yourself to look at him.

"I can't believe this…" he said. "That you still don't believe me. I pour my heart out to you, tell you how much I love you….But it still doesn't do any good. What I say doesn't matter. What I think of you…It doesn't matter, does it?"

"W-Wally, n-no! I didn't…I didn't mean…" Her eyes quickly filled with tears. In her heart, she knew that she had said the wrong thing to him. She had basically just told him to stop helping her. To stop defending her.

To stop loving her.

"Don't," he said. "You've said it all, Kuki. It doesn't matter. I understand." He was about to get up, but Kuki grabbed a hold of him.

"Wally, please, I'm sorry!" she said, trying not to cry. "Please don't leave me! I was wrong! I was just scared! No, _terrified_, that you would get hurt because of me! That you would get hurt because….Because I can't defend myself! That I'm who I am! I didn't mean to tell you that I don't want you to fight for me! I do! I just said the completely wrong thing! I _do _want you to fight for me, Wally! And every time you've told me what you think of me…How wonderful you think I am, how much you love me…You've made my life so much better than it used to be! This has been the greatest year of my entire life! You've made me so happy, Wally! I love you! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say what I did! I said everything wrong! I'm so sorry! Please don't leave! Don't break up with me! Please!"

He had just stared at her during her little speech, trying to figure out in his head exactly what she was trying to say and what he was going to do about it. He took it all in, processed it in his mind, and sat back down.

"You think I was going to break up with you?" he asked, his voice neutral along with his face.

"W-Well….You looked so angry…W-Weren't you?" She sniffled, wiping away the water welling in her eyes. At least she didn't cry in tears.

"No," he said. "I wasn't. We were just having a fight, is all. People do that all the time, you know. It's just…Kuki…Kooks…" Kuki's heart lightened a little at the nickname. That showed his anger was dwindling away.

"You've got to accept the fact that I fight. It's a part of who I am. If you can't accept that, then I don't think it'll work out."

"I accept it," she said. "It was just so scary. I had never seen you fight before. I didn't mean to make you think that I didn't like the tough part of you. Because I _do. _I love that about you." She felt so ashamed that she had hurt him like that.

"Then the next time I'm in a fight, Kuki, you've got to just let me do it. It's the way I deal with things. Don't try to make me stop. I can't do that."

"I will, Wally, I promise." She meant this; in future fights, she would look away, but never again would she yell for him to stop.

"Good." He touched his forehead to hers, and lightly held her fingers in his hand. "Another thing; didn't you say the other night that I was your hero?"

"Yes."

"Did you mean that? Am I really your hero, Kuki?"

"Yes! Of course you are!" She took hold of his shoulders and looked him in the eyes to show she was serious. "You're my knight in shining armor!"

He smiled, his heart warmed by her truthful proclamation. "Then give me a chance to be your hero. Let me fight for you. Let me defend you. Let me love you. Okay?"

"I will…" She buried her face in his shirt, now embracing him with a hug. "I'll never try to stop you again."

"Good," he said, retuning the hug. "And one last thing…"

"Yes?"

"So what you meant to say was….You didn't want me to fight for you because you couldn't defend yourself, right?"

"Yeah." She let go so she could look at him again. "That's what I really meant to say. It just came out all wrong."

"Alright then." He grinned and got up, offering her a hand to get up too. "Then I propose that we get started working on that."

"Working on what?"

"Your defense skills. Your self-confidence. Stuff like that."

"Huh? How….How are you gonna do that?"

He gave her another smile. "Meet me after school tomorrow at six. I'll show you what I mean."

"What are you going to do?" She had no idea what he was up to. She trusted him completely, but was a little confused on exactly what he had planned.

"You'll see. Now c'mon, I'll walk you home."

"Okay," she smiled, and hooked her arm around his, elated that everything had worked out. "By the way, how did you know I was in trouble? I thought you had to watch Joey."

"I still do, but Mum and Dad won't be gone for another hour, and I forgot my calculator for my math. I was coming back to get it when I saw you and that creep."

_Thank God I came back, _he thought, not using the good Lord's name in vain. He was seriously thanking him for leading him to her. He wasn't a religious person, but still, he believed that there was someone up there looking after the two of them, and he was more than grateful.

"Are you still having trouble with the math? Would you like me to help?"

"That'd be great! You can even help me watch Joey. I can't seem to figure out how to find the angles of those stupid triangles…"

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**Oi, that was long…Not my best chapter, it didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with this chapter, which is why it didn't turn out as well. I hope you guys aren't disappointed or anything. And sorry for such a long wait. Only three chaps to go! And the next chapter will have another bonus…Kuki will speak to Wally's friends for the first time! Oh boy!**


	19. The Lesson

**Goodness gracious, I took so long to update. I am so sorry! I've been so busy! School is evil that way. Thank you for your patience! I am so sorry. So sorry.**

**SO SORRY!**

**Thanks to all my reviewers! I promise, this story will indeed end. It just might take a while. **

**Disclaimer: Sorry sorry sorry don't own Codename: Kids Next Door but I do own my OC's like Brooke and Todd and Mr. Melloni and Chase and Matt and sorry sorry sorry…**

_Finding Happiness_

BONUS 2: The Meeting

This was it. This was the time, the place, the moment where Kuki would finally meet Wally's two best friends, Chase and Matt. These were the two people that have known Wally since he had moved to Australia. They knew him more than she did, they understood him more than her. It was crucial that they liked her, because if they didn't…

"A-Are you s-sure we should d-do this?" Kuki asked her boyfriend anxiously, sitting on his bed and twiddling her fingers. "I-I mean, what if-"

"Kooks, relax!" Wally assured her, waving off her worries while working on his computer camera. His accented voice was relaxed, yet excited. "My family liked ya, didn't they?"

"Y-Yes, but…"

"But nothing! Trust me! Chase and Matt are big softies! They like pretty much everyone. _Especially _girls. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to flirt with you a little bit…"

"F-F-FLIRT?!?!?" Her face just screamed "PANIC!"

Wally laughed to himself. Kuki just worried about the silliest things. "No worries, Kooks. One day you'll find out that it's very common for guys to come onto any girl in sight. So lighten up! And remember, they were the ones who suggested we do this, right?"

"I…I guess…" she said, still unconvinced.

"Kuki, they'll love you. Not like I do, of course, but they'll love you. I promise," he said, his rough voice suddenly sweet and his face a little red.

She smiled at his little discreet way of telling her he loved her, and some of her worries floated away in a little bubble. "Okay," she said, getting up on her feet. "If you say so."

"I don't say so, I know so! So are ya ready for this? I got the camera all ready now."

She took a deep breath. _It'll be okay, it'll be okay…Don't panic…It's just his friends…He said they were nice, right? Yes, it'll be okay…_

"Alright, let me just click here….Loading now……50%…..80%…"

Kuki shut her eyes tightly and took a step behind Wally, as if the computer were an enemy and Wally would protect her.

"……90%…..95%…..One-hundred percent!"

"Hey Wally!"

"Hey buddy!"

"Chase! Matt!" Wally replied enthusiastically. "It's so good to see you guys!"

Kuki, still cowardly hovering behind her boyfriend, allowed herself a look at the computer screen.

Chase was to the left, a gawky tanned boy with long sandy brown hair that reached his ears. Matt was next to his right, a more light-skinned boy with a few freckles and red-brown hair that was just….everywhere. It was a very messy haircut. Both had ecstatic grins on their faces, delighted to see Wally. Their dark blue (Chase) and brown (Matt) eyes were wide with excitement.

"Oh, man, it's so good to see you, mate!" Matt said, his voice a little high rather than deep. He was dressed in an oversized short-sleeved black hoodie and ripped jeans. "I almost forgot what you look like!"

"Yeah, me too," Chase added, wearing a red t-shirt advertising some band Kuki had never heard of with some tight black jeans. "I almost forgot how ugly you were!" The two laughed. The quality of video on the computer wasn't the best, because when the two on the screen moved it looked like they were sporadically moving their bodies to different places with no movement in between.

"Ha ha ha, you guys are _so _funny," Wally grumbled, trying to look annoyed. Kuki knew better though. She could see in his eyes he was just excited as they were about seeing each other. It wasn't in person, of course, but still.

"Ah, we're just kiddin' ya, Walls!" Chase said. "You know we love you."

"Yeah, it's too bad you're taken, because I am so deeply in love with you Wally…" Matt clasped his hands together and batted his eyes, pretending to be infatuated with him. Wally's green eyes rolled.

"Speakin' of which, where is the little Sheila? I wanna meet 'er! You see her Chase?"

"No! Where is she, Wally?"

"She was right here-" He turned his head and so his girlfriend sitting behind him, trying to hide herself. "Kooks….What're you doin'? You hidin' or something?"

"She's right behind you? Hey Kuki, come on out! We won't bite! I mean, Matt might, but not me…"

"Shut up! You know I don't bite!"

"Are you kidding? Have you _watched _yourself eat a burger? It's gone in like, two seconds! I'm sorry man, but you're a pig!"

"Oh, c'mon! You do the same thing with cake!"

"Yeah, but…."

The two continued to argue in a friendly manner while Wally bent down to look at Kuki face to face, where Chase and Matt couldn't see them. "What's wrong, Kooks? You still nervous?"

She blushed. _I'm acting like such a child, _she chided to herself. _I mean, they seem so nice…_

"I-I'm sorry…." she apologized, twiddling her fingers. "I-I just get so nervous meeting people the same age as me…"

"Well, like I said Kuki, you got nothing to worry about. I mean, look at those two!" He pointed back at the screen. "They're a couple of crazy kangaroos."

"I just really really _really _love burgers! Is it so wrong to eat it in two seconds?!?!?" Matt asked.

"Of course not, I _love _your piggish ways. _I'm _just saying it's possible that you could bite her…"

He turned back to her. "See? Crazy kangaroos." He stood back up. "C'mon…." He said, lending her a friend. "I really want em' to meet ya. It's about time they learned what a _good _girlfriend looked like."

"HEY!" the two crazy kids said. "You sayin' we have a bad taste in woman?"

"No, not at all," Wally replied, lying through his teeth. "Not at all. Now shut up, I'm about to introduce you to her."

They did as they were told, and sat down. Kuki looked up at her boyfriend, who was smiling at her, waiting for her to get up very patiently.

_Well, if Wally says they'll like me, _she thought, taking his hand. _Then it must be true._

She stood up, and looked at the screen, blushing like a maniac.

"H-H-Hello…" she stuttered. "M-M-My n-name is K-Kuki…"

"KUKI!" they both exclaimed.

"Finally, we've met!" Chase said. "We've been waiting so long!"

"Yeah, Wally has told us so much about ya that we were just dying to meet you!" the other added.

"H-He did? You were?"

"Oh yeah!" Matt said. "I feel as if I already know you! Anyways, it's nice to finally see you! I'm Matt, the cool skater boy."

"And I'm Chase, the hard-core rocker!" He made a hang-loose sign.

"H-Hi…My name is Kuki…"

They chuckled. "We know, you already said that," Chase informed her.

"I-I did? I-I'm sorry. I…I'm not very good at meeting people…" She looked down on the floor, embarrassed at her mistake.

"No worries mate! And no need to be nervous! Me n' Chase are just a couple of doofuses. We aren't gonna treat you badly. We _like _you!"

"Y-You do?" She blinked in surprise. "But you just met me!"

"Perhaps, but like we said, Wally has told us a lot about you, and from what we've heard, you must be pretty awesome."

"Me?!?!? Awesome?!?!? You think I'm awesome?"

"And cute too!" Chase said. "That shy thing you got goin' on is just so charming! You're an adorable Sheila. Hey, if you ever get tired of this guy…" He pointed at Wally, "Feel free to contact me. Sure, long-distance relationships are hard, but I think we can make it work out, eh?" He winked at her. "_And _I can sing. And play the guitar. We can sing some beautiful songs together.'

Kuki thought she might faint.

"Hey, who says she'd go for you?" Matt argued. "Kuki, if you dump Wally, you should go for _me! _I'm _way _smarter than this loon! _I _can skateboard. If you ever flew over here or I came to America, I could show you how to skateboard. Now _that's _a real talent!"

"I-I-I'm s-sorry…" she said, panicking. "Y-You guys are v-very n-nice, but I l-love Wally very much a-and…"

Wally laid his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Kooks," he said. "They're just teasing you. Besides, they know that once you date me, you can't evah go back!" He gave his friends a toothy grin. "Ain't that right, fellas?"

They ignored his statement. "Aww, Matt, he called her _Kooks!"_

"I know, he has a nickname for her!"

"How _cute! _What a good name for _The Chosen One!_"

"The Chosen One?" Kuki asked. "Who's that?"

"Oh, crud…" Wally groaned. "Just ignore them. They don't know what the heck they're saying!"

"Of course we know what we're saying! Kuki, are you saying Wally has never told you that you're The Chosen One?" Matt said. Both boys pretended to look stunned.

"Of course I didn't tell her that!" Wally said. "It's the cruddiest thing I've ever heard!"

"It is not!" Chase said, then turned to Kuki. "You should be proud that you're The Chosen One!"

"But why am I called that?" she asked.

"Because you are the only girl alive," he began, changing his voice to a deep tone, "that was able to tame the heart of the terrible beast known as Wallabee Beetles."

"A few girls have attempted to accomplish this dangerous and difficult task." It was Matt talking now. "But all of them have failed. The Beast had rejected them all, and reduced them to tears!"

"I didn't do anything like that!"

"Eventually every girl in the Australian kingdom got their heart broken by The Beast. Chase and I had lost all hope. We had thought Wally's heart would be black forever."

"For a while," the other said, "we had begun to think that The Chosen One was just a mere myth…But then _you _came along. You used your charm and beauty…"

_Beauty?_

"…To show The Beast what true love really was. His heart grew three sizes bigger when he met you, and changed colors from a coal black to a glistening gold. Kuki, you _are _The Chosen One."

"You're a legend!"

"You were _made _for him!"

"Congratulations!"

"Bravo!" They started clapping.

"W-Wait!" Kuki interrupted, ceasing their joyful cheering. "Wally…He…" She looked at Wally. He looked peeved, and maybe…

…A little hurt?

"H-He's not a beast…He's a great guy…" She took his hand. "He's been sweet to me ever since the day he met. He's the kindest person I've ever met. He's not a beast at all! If anything, he's a prince!"

Despite how corny that last part of the proclamation was, Wally gave her a grin. "You really mean that?" he said, low enough that he was hoping his friends didn't hear.

"Yeah!" She held his hand tighter.

Chase and Matt stared at them. "Wow, look at em'…" Chase said, leaning over towards Matt. "They look all, like…happy and junk."

"Yeah…You think we took The Chosen One thing a little too far?"

"Maybe…Hey, Walls."

"Huh?" He turned his eyes back to them.

"We were just jokin', ya know."

"Yeah, we don't _really _think you're a beast or anything. It's just really surprising, y'know? We've never…well, seen you like this, after all…"

"You mad at us?"

Wally just smiled and waved it off. "Nah, I understand. This crazy Sheila over here really does make me outta character," he said, patting her head.

"I'm not crazy!" she said, laughing with a beaming face. She suddenly felt comfortable with his friends. Like she could really be herself.

"But I'm still tough!" Wally said, pulling on his I'm-a-bad-boy pose. "Nobody can mess with me! Nobody! I'm still the toughest guy there is!"

"Of course!"

"We never doubted that for a moment!"

"Good!" Wally crossed his arms in satisfaction.

"So…Kuki, whatcha think of us?" Chase asked. "Think we can all be friends!"

"We can be like pen pal buddies or something!" Matt said, excited.

"You…You want to be my friend?"

"Well duh!" they said in unison. "What else would we want to meet you for?"

"I…I dunno….But…I really like you guys. You're really funny…and a lot of fun to be around so…I would love to be your friend!"

"GREAT!"

"And like we said," Matt started. "If you ever get tired of this guy…"

"We're always available!" the other finished.

Kuki giggled. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind!" She winked at Wally.

She had never felt so fortunate, so lucky. Now not only did she have a boyfriend, but now two _friends?_

All her dreams were coming true.

**

* * *

**

**Oh boy, that was mostly dialogue, so I kept saying "he said, she said…" I hate it when I do that. But I kinda had to. I mean, you have to know who said what, right? Sorry about that though. Reading that the same thing over and over again can get annoying.**

**Anyways, now for the real chapter (after a six page bonus, lol).**

_Chapter 19_

_The Lesson_

_Dear Miss Sanban,_

_Do not forget about our appointment at the hangout after school today. Failing to attend is not an option if you wish to achieve a passing grade for class._

_From the desk of Mr. Beetles, teacher extrordinare._

She had found the note taped to her locker when she came to get her books for the last class of the day. Kuki had absolutely no idea why he referred to himself as a teacher, and what he was trying to say. He was giving a class? And she was getting graded for it?

_What is Wally up to? _

Well, whatever it was, if he was imitating a teacher, she would be sure not to mention that he misspelled the word _extraordinaire. _That might lower his proud ego.

She arrived at the hangout as soon as she could after getting her things and walking all the way there. He had said that he would be there when she came, since he took the quick way there by taking the bus.

"I gotta get there as soon as possible to set things up," he had said.

Kuki had wondered all day exactly what Wally had planned for the evening. She knew he was giving her some sort of lesson on confidence and standing up for herself, but she didn't know exactly how that kind of thing was taught.

_What needs to be set up? What is he doing? Wally is taking this so seriously…_

And she was right. Wally was, indeed, taking this plan as seriously as possible. He knew that he was not exactly book-smart, but he was a genius when it came to three things: Fighting, confidence, and standing up for yourself. And he was hoping that some of his brilliance on the subjects would rub off on her, just as her book-smarts have rubbed on him. He was getting better grades because of her, after all.

But he wasn't doing it just to repay her for everything she had taught her. He was tired of Kuki being picked on, pushed around, and seeing her miserable because she thought she wasn't 'worth crud', as he put it. Because he didn't think that at all. Quite the opposite, non-surprisingly.

But he wanted her to know she was a great person too.

So he spent all his free time before and after school to get everything set up and ready for her lesson before the time of their appointment. He had a lot to cover, and had to make sure he had everything he needed to make the lesson successful, so she could get a good grade. He would observe her, and watch her apply her lessons over the next few weeks to see if she improved. Right now her confidence grade was an D. (It used to be an F, but it had improved since they had started dating.) He wanted to slowly work her up to a C, then B, and eventually an A.

Oh yes, he was taking this _very _seriously.

When he finally saw Kuki come through the door, he was all ready.

"Good evening, Miss Sanban," he said, and gestured towards a wooden chair he had taken from a table, facing him. "Please, take a seat."

"Uh…Okay…" she said, watching him nervously and doing as she was told.

_Who are you and what have you done with Wally?_

"You've arrived just on time," he said, glancing at a watch Kuki had never seen him wear. "I just finished setting up for the lesson."

At this comment, Kuki took her eyes of Wally and stopped thinking of his strange behavior and decided to look around the room. Behind her boyfriend was a small green chalkboard. Wally's blocky handwriting was scrawled on it, and it said in all capital letters:

WALLY'S SCHOOL OF CONFIDENCE

TURN THAT CRUDDY FROWN UPSIDE DOWN FOR GOOD!

Kuki laughed at that. It was just so random and cheesy! And the word 'cruddy' made it sound just like him! It was comforting to read, due to Wally's strange change of character at the moment. He had acted normal that day before she came to the hangout for the lesson, after all.

On the corners of the room, there was a tall punching dummy, the kind that's punched and it just wobbles back up. This alarmed her.

_Wally, what are you going to make me do? This is making me nervous…_ There was also an CD player.

She had absolutely no idea what her boyfriend had in store for her.

"Welcome!" Wally said. "Shall I call you Miss Sanban or KukI?"

"Err…Kuki is fine…."

"Alright then, Kuki! Then you can call me Wally!"

"Wally, what are you do-"

"Ah ah ah!" he said, wagging his finger at her. "No talking yet, Miss. I haven't finished talking."

She zipped her mouth.

"All right then." He reached into his pocket and unfolded the piece of notebook paper he had taken out of it, cleared his throat, and read from it. "Welcome to Wally's School of Confidence!" he started boldly. "By enrolling into this class, you have taken the first step into making yourself into a more confident and proud you! I am well aware of your difficult issues with your self-esteem, and be comforted to know that by taking this class, you will surely improve in this area!"

He paused to take a breath. _I sound so smart! _he thought proudly. _I hope Kuki thinks I wrote this myself, without the help of Chase and Matt…._

"Wally…" she squeaked.

"Wait, not done yet." He took another breath. "This class not only teaches you how to improve in what you think of yourself," he continued, "but how to stand up to yourself and improve your overall mood! No more frowns, no more tears, no more "I can't do it!" He started getting more and more pumped, his voice more deep, loud, convincing, and excited. "This is your time!" he bellowed. "Your moment! Are you ready to shine, Miss Sanban?!? Are you? ARE YOU READY?"

"Uh…Yes?"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"Yes!"

"WHAT?"

She took in a deep breath and shouted as loudly and as proudly as she possibly could "YES!"

"Thatta girl!" he said approvingly. "I expect you to have that same enthusiasm all throughout the course of this class!"

"Yes sir!" she said, giggling. _I feel like I'm in the military or something._

"GOOD! Now, before we get started, we've got to lay some ground rules!"

"Ground rules? There are rules? Like the ones in school?" she asked, dropping the dedicated soldier act for a moment.

"Heck no!" He brushed the comment off as if he were disgusted. "At least, not like a _school school_. It's not like you gotta raise your hand or anything, just blurt it out. No, I'm talkin' about my own rules! Now let's start with rule number one! You ready?"

"Yes sir!"

"Okay! Rule Number One: No negativity! No 'I'm not good enough' or 'I'm useless'! Nothin' like that! Only positive thinking is allowed here!"

Kuki wrung her hands. _That's going to be hard for me to do, _she thought nervously, thinking that these rules would be harder to follow than regular school ones. "W-What happens if that one's broken?" she asked nervously.

"Then I beat you with a stick until you pass out," he answered, successfully keeping his face straight.

"Huh?" She wasn't expecting that kind of answer. She knew he was lying, it was just kind of a shock to hear him say something like that to her.

Wally chuckled. "Just kiddin'," he said. "Nothing will happen to ya. I'm just going to give you a long lecture on why you are wrong until you finally agree with me. And I _will _make it long and boring. So beware. Anyways, Rule Number Two: You have to agree to do whatever I ask you to, no matter how stupid it may seem."

"W-What kinds of things are you going to make me do?"

"You'll have to find out, won't you? And now, the last and most important rule…" He took a few steps toward her and bent down to meet her eye to eye.

"I am the teacher," he said, pointing to himself. "You are the student. That is our relationship when we are in class. I am _not _your boyfriend, you are _not _my girlfriend. Do you understand?"

"I think so…" she said, blushing at his closeness. It was hard to accept this rule when his face was only inches from hers. She could kiss him if she wanted to. "Student-teacher relationship only," she said.

He smiled. "Good. Now…Let's get started." He stood up and went back near the board. "Let me begin by asking you some questions. " He crossed his fingers, attempting to look professional. "Kuki, how would you describe your personality?"

"Uh…Oh…I…Can I think about it?" Her favorite subject to talk about was definitely not herself, and she didn't do it very often.

"Nope. What's the first thing that comes to your mind?"

Well, that made it a little easier for her. "Shy."

"What else?"

A few seconds passed before another answer. "Weak."

"What else?"

"Scared."

"Really? Why do you think that?" He pulled up a chair and sat across from her. He was quite pleased with this answer. _We'll get you more confident in no time! _he thought, thinking he was really on a role here. _This teaching thing is no big deal at all! It's a good thing Chase and Matt gave me teaching tips…_

She blinked. "Wally…You know why."

"I do, but I want you to tell me why. Why?"

"Because, silly…Everyone at school hates me. They've hurt me, made fun of me, and just make me feel…You know…"

"No, I don't. How do they make you feel, Kuki?"

"Terrible. Like…Like…" She felt like she was with a psychologist.

"Like you're a nobody?"

"Yes…Exactly like that! Like…Like…"

"Like you're not important?" he said, helping her out a little more.

"Yeah, like what I say doesn't matter. It makes me…" She clenched her fists and shut her eyes tightly. "Sometimes I just feel so…" She shut her mouth. _What is going on with me? _she wondered. _Since when do I clench my hands into fists?_

Her hands were the first thing that had captured Wally's attention, and he grinned slyly. "Feeling angry, Kuki? Wish you could just put out your anger? Hmm?"

"N-N-No!" she argued, unclenching her fists and setting them straight against her side. "A-Are you talking about violence? I-I don't do that! Not me! I hate violence!"

"Oh, is that true?" His mischievous little smile grew wider. "Maybe you just need to get _angrier. _Maybe even _furious._"

"W-What are you talking about? W-Wally, please, don't make me do any-"

"Let's do a little roleplaying. You know, like in videogames. I'm going to pretend to be Brooke, and you're just going to be yourself. Just react to her as you normally do. Alright?" _Maybe this will make her angry._

"You're…going to pretend to be BROOKE?" She never thought she'd see the day he'd do that. "Are you serious?"

He ignored her and got right into the game. He sat up straight, puffed his chest out, and tried to put on that arrogant look that he always saw on the blonde's stupid face. "Well, _hello _Kuki!" he said, in a terrible high voice that sounded _nothing _like the high school vixen. "How nice to see you! I mean, just looking at your face makes me feel so much better about myself! I mean, I'm so hot and beautiful, and you're not! It really just makes my day!"

Kuki gulped again, and tried to imagine Brooke standing there instead of Wally. Being the creative person that she was, she actually did this successfully. It took a little while, since Wally was nothing like her, but it eventually worked. She didn't feel the same way she did around Brooke, since she knew it wasn't actually _her_, but she said exactly what she would've said to her.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said, putting on her shy voice as she would have in real life. "H-How are you?"

"Well, I'm just great! I mean, I am _Brooke Sanders_, the most wonderful girl in all of cruddy Cleveland! And how are _you? _Pathetic and stupid as always, I suppose?"

"Wally…"

"I mean, you _are _useless, after all! An outcast! Who would want to be friends with you, besides that Beetles guy? Seriously!"

"Wally…" Her eyes were downcast. "This isn't helping…"

"You're right, it's not," he agreed, returning to his old self, thankfully. He hated acting like that stuck-up bimbo, and it was just hurting Kuki's feelings rather than making her angry. "It doesn't do you any good to just stand there and take her crap, does it? Hmm?"

"W-What else am I supposed to do? Because I don't know!" Kuki was desperate, trying to figure out what in the world Wally wanted from her. How was she supposed to know how to act? She's been the same way as long as she could remember.

"Well, let me show you! Here," he said, pulling out another piece of paper and handing it to her. "This is a script I made. You're gonna be Brooke now, and I'm gonna be you. I'll show you how you should _really _react to her."

"But Wally…"

He just stared at her. She didn't have to ask him what he was saying. _Do it, I'm not giving you an option. _She sighed and took a look at the script.

"Hello, Kuki!" she said, putting on her best Brooke impression, which was actually quite good. She sounded a lot more like her than Wally did. "I see you don't have any makeup on your face. You _do _know that you wouldn't look so ugly if you bothered to put some makeup on, don't you? I mean, you would still look terrible, but it wouldn't hurt my eyes so much."

At first he wanted to laugh. Kuki would never say anything like that! It was a good thing she was just acting, or he would just stare. He then shook his head, telling himself to focus. "Well, Brooke," he said, once again trying to sound female. "I _like _the way I look. I don't see anything wrong with my face. I don't care what you think of me anyway."

"Even so, people still hate you!" she said, reading the next line. "Nobody likes you!"

"Wally, Chase, and Matt like me."

"They don't count. Wally's a loser, and the other two I've never even heard of!" Her voice sounded more and more like her with each line. It spooked Wally a little bit, seeing her be so mean, even if it was pretend. This didn't phase him though.

"They're real people, Brooke, you can count on that. And who said they were losers? You? Who made you queen? Oh, and by the way, you look so used-up you'll have wrinkles by the time you're thirty!" He burst out laughing. _I'll have to tell Brooke that sometime, _he noted.

"Wally!" Kuki said, throwing the paper in her hands. "I would never say anything like that!"

"Ha ha! I know, but wouldn't it be great if you _did? _I'd give anything to see that! Ha ha ha!" He allowed himself to laugh a little more and then calmed down quickly, returning to his teacher-self. "Anyways, besides that last comment, _that's _what you're supposed to say when she insults you! Even if you're still at the point where what she says hurts your feelings, make her think you don't care! If you do, then you eventually _won't, _and Brooke will have nothing on you!"

"But she _does _hurt my feelings Wally!" she protested. "How am I supposed to not care if I really do think I'm stupid and useless? How do I stop thinking that about myself Wally? How…How can I do that…How can I change? I mean, I believe you when you say how wonderful you think I am, but…How can I convince myself that it's _true?_"

"You just gotta tell yourself that it _is_ true, Kooks," he said, allowing himself to take her hands. "Whenever you find yourself thinking you're a terrible person, you have to stop yourself and think 'Stop. I'm a great person. I'm kind, smart, brave, and I deserve to be happy. I'm also loved. All the others are just trying to make me feel bad, but I won't give them the satisfaction.' Think something like that, and just keep doing it. Also, keep in mind that you're not alone, because you've got me."

"Are you sure it'll work?" Her voice was so hopeful, so desperate. "Will I really get better Wally? Will I ever learn to love myself? Because I really want to."

"You will," he answered, determined. "Just give it time. You _will _get better, Kooks… I believe in you," He said softly, and brushed her hair away from her face. She was looking straight into his eyes, two perfect gleaming pools of violet, and he couldn't help but stare back.

He almost leaned in to kiss her before he remembered his third rule. "Woah!" he said, jumping away from her. "Uh…I'm the teacher, remember? No, uh…Y'know…We'll have none of that!"

"R-Right! S-Sorry, sir!" She put her hands behind her back. "N-None of that!"

He cleared his throat. "Let's get on with the next part, then."

* * *

"Y-You…You want me to punch it?!?" Kuki asked, pointing at the dummy. "You're serious?"

"Completely serious!" he answered happily. "You have to learn to defend yourself physically as well as mentally, Miss Sanban. What're you going to do if you're ever in a situation where you're gonna have to hit them, after all? You gotta work your strength up! This is the best way to start, after all. It's where I started."

Not to mention the dummy was always Wally's victim whenever he was stressed and needed to hit something. Pillows just didn't do it for him. They were far to fluffy and soft. The dummy felt more human.

"I've never punched anything in my entire life!" she claimed, even though that was entirely false. She had, indeed, punched when she was in the Kids Next Door. But then again, she no longer remembered her times in that organization.

"That's why I said this was a good place to start, dummy! C'mon, give it a swing! It's easy! All you gotta do," he explained, starting to demonstrate. "Is pull your arm straight back with your fists at an angle. If you hit it with the arm entirely straight, then you're just gonna hurt yourself. So you just put your arm into position, and use as much force as possible when striking, your arm still angled. Once you get it right…" His arm shot forward like a bullet, and put so much power into the dummy that it slammed into the floor, bouncing back and forth crazily.

"Of course, if it was a real victim it wouldn't bounce like that, but it would be effective, trust me!" he said, satisfied with his instructions. "Think you got it?"

Kuki just watched the dummy, her head following the object bouncing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Her eyes looked as if she had seen Wally shoot someone instead. "I don't think I'll ever have it," she said in a scared voice, though to others it may have sounded comical.

"Not if Mr. Beetles, teacher extraordinaire has anything to do about it. Here…" He stepped to the back of her, taking her arm. "Just bend it like this," he instructed, trying to get her to do it right. "No, not like that…Like this…Yeah, there we go…Angle it…That's right….Don't be nervous, it's just a dummy…Okay…Now…"

He stepped back, giving her room. "Now let him have it!"

Gritting her teeth, she gave it her all. She didn't want to let Wally down.

She didn't want to let herself down either.

_POW!_

It was incredible. The impact wasn't as powerful as Wally's, of course, but it bounced back and forth plenty of times. Kuki couldn't believe it. _I did it…_

"I DID IT!" She raised her arms in victory. "I did it Wally! Did you see that?!?!? I hit it! I hit it!"

"Great job, Kuki! That's awesome!" They grinned like fools and gave each other tight hugs. He swung her around, and they laughed.

"Heh heh, you'll be as strong as me in no time! We can to tag team wrestling!" he joked.

She giggled. "No way!" They both knew that they probably looked like idiots. After all, it was just a dummy. But she had punched it! And it was a great one at that! They both hadn't known if she would've done it, but she did!

"How'd it feel?" Wally asked her, setting her down.

She didn't need to think about it. "It felt…It felt…"

"Uh-huh?"

"It felt…_so good_. It makes me think that maybe I'm not so weak after all…" She felt so empowered. She never had that feeling before.

"You've never been weak, Kooks. Ever," he assured her, and then startled her by kissing her. At first she thought about his third rule, but gave in. It was kind of hard to resist.

He pulled away, and Kuki asked him shyly, "What about your third rule?"

"I decided to get rid of that rule," he said. "It's too hard to follow, wouldn't you think?"

"Definitely," she answered, kissing her new favorite tutor. Who knew kissing a teacher would actually be enjoyable?

* * *

Wally walked Kuki home after the lesson. Wally gave her a schedule (one he worked on for hours) of the next few classes they would have for the next month before she went in. "You made progress, but you still have a long way to go," he told her. "It's not like you'll suddenly start loving yourself tomorrow. It's going to take awhile."

"I know," she answered. "But…We're on the right track…Am I right?"

He gave her a look. "Kuki," he said, "What did I tell you to do when you start to doubt yourself?"

She took a deep breath. "I will be alright. I will get better. I will."

He pecked her forehead. "Good! Just keep doing that, okay? And before I forget…" He reached into his pocket (How many things did he keep in there?) and handed her an envelope, the name Kuki written across the front. "This is for you."

"What is it?" She began to open it…

"No! You're not supposed to do that yet!" he said, taking it back, face red. No one knew why he looked embarrassed.

"Huh? Why not? Isn't it for me?"

"Yeah, but you're supposed to only read it when I'm not around and you're feeling down! Only read it then, okay? You promise? I won't give it to you until you promise!"

"Wally, you can trust me!" she argued with a smile. Her mind raced with possibilities of what the letter would say, but she would stay true to her word. "I promise I won't!"

"Cross your heart and hope to…" _No, not that! I don't want her to die! _"You promise?" He held the letter against his chest, as if it were a piece of treasure that he held dear.

"I promise." She gently took it back from his grip. "I do have a question, though…"

"I'm not telling you what it is!"

"No, no…I know that, silly. I just want to know why I can't open it when you're around."

Startled by the question, he rubbed his head and turned around, not wanting Kuki to see his face. "Well…What I wrote is just kind of _personal_, that's all. I don't want to be standing around watching you read it. That would just be embarrassing. I ain't ashamed of what I wrote or anything, it's just…"

Kuki put her hand on his shoulder. "I understand, Wally. It's okay."

He turned around, still embarrassed, staring at the ground. "Yeah, well…I'm glad. It's just…I really put feeling into what I wrote and it's really…something I don't do often."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. You made me soft, you cruddy girl," he said affectionately.

"Well, I am The Chosen One," she joked, leaning her head against his chest and closing her eyes. "I was born to tame your heart, I guess."

Wally chuckled, and put his arms around her, warming her from the cool night air. "Yeah, I guess you were."

But as Wally had said, it would take a while for Kuki to finally get the confidence and strength she needed to improve herself. She would need to face more trials and more difficulties and her life in order to succeed. Neither of them knew that they would face a trial soon, when they were least expecting it…

* * *

**Now, a good writer would go over his or her work and make corrections and correct what he or she didn't like. However, I have been typing essays and stuff for school all day, and this chapter is already overdue. I hope you guys find this chapter worthy. The next two chapters…Shall be the last. The journey is almost over.**

**Goodness gracious, this is almost finished…**


	20. Anniversaries? Connor? Huh?

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter of the fic! Hooray! I'm quite pleased with the first part, but the second was kinda rushed. Also, I decided to cut it short and make it two more chapters instead of one more. I've been so busy, and I need to get this out before I get too busy to post again. **

**And I just love messin' with people's minds by giving my OC's secrets. I originally wasn't planning on doing stuff to Connor at all, but I came up with this idea a while ago, and…I love what I did with him. I hope I surprise you guys! And I love Connor more now. I hate him too. It's a love/hate relationship.**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 20

Anniversaries? Connor? Huh?

Fury. Anger. Disbelief. Clenched fists, clenched teeth, tense muscles. She felt as if she were on fire, as if every single cell of her body was charged with this thundering pulse of pure hot hatred. Her face was distorted in a terrifying scowl, her face simmering with rage. Every muscle was aching to harm something, or someone…Anything. For at Gallagher High, there be a dragon named Brooke Sanders.

She stared at her boyfriend, covered in badges of pain and punishment. Everywhere there was some sort of bruise, scratch, or a blotch of red. He was a horrible, pitiful mess. Even one of his teeth had a small chip taken off. It was barely noticeable, but it still just angered her further.

Her boyfriend was hot. Her boyfriend was strong. Her boyfriend was powerful.

He was _not _a weakling, he was _not _meant to be beaten up. He was meant to help her rule over the school, and punish those whoever defied them.

They were supposed to win the battles. The enemy wasn't supposed to triumph over them.

The enemy had to be stopped, for if Brooke didn't, her kingdom would come crumbling down and turn into dust.

At least, that's how she saw it in her eyes.

"Something must be done…" she said to her friends in a deathly voice, as if she were the Grim Reaper. "I can't take it anymore. I seriously want to strangle Wally and Kuki. Those two…I swear…I want to kill them…" She looked crazy, she looked like she was going mental. Of course, she looked beautiful, but it was in the freakiest way possible.

"You take Kuki, I'll take Wally," Todd muttered, staring at her with a furious intensity. His fists were red from clenching them too tightly. "He needs to pay for what he did to me. Nobody takes me down…No one," he whispered, shaking in wrath. "I want to beat him bloody…"

"Calm down, guys," Connor said, sitting next to him. "I don't think you guys are thinking very clearly. You seriously need to chill."

Brooke's head whipped towards him, her eyes shooting daggers. "Chill?" she said, her voice slowly rising in volume. "Chill?!?!? Did you say that we need to chill?!?!?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I said." He leaned back and put his hands behind his head, being nonchalant.

"I don't think you quite understand the situation, Connor," she stated, resisting the urge to punch him in the face. "Don't you see what's happening? Don't you see what those two _idiots _are doing?"

"Yeah, but I'm just saying…Take a deep breath or something. Being angry won't solve anything, and your anger is scaring the shit outta Delilah. Calm down."

The blonde glanced at the redhead, and saw the anxious look on her face. She took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll calm down, for your sake, Delilah. But I'm serious. Something has to be done."

"I'm not calming down!" Todd yelled, standing up and slapping his palms on the picnic table. "That idiot Beetles screwed me up! He slapped me around like I was some sissy! I want _revenge, damn it!_!"

"You _will _get your revenge Todd! We all will!"

Connor rolled his eyes. Drama kings and queens, that's what they all were. And what exactly did Connor need revenge for? They didn't do anything to him.

"Do you have a plan, Brooke?" Delilah asked curiously, sucking up. _Again, _Connor thought, grimacing.

"No, I don't," she admitted, scowling at her lack of ideas. "I don't know where to strike next. Do you guys have any ideas?"

"How about you hold him down while I cut his freakin' head off!" Todd exclaimed. "That sounds like a brilliant plan to me!"

"No, that's too quick. His suffering will end in one second."

"How about we try to break em' up again?" Jared said, speaking up for the first time. "Without each other they're nothing!"

"That's what I wish we could do, it'd be the perfect solution," she agreed. "But it didn't work the first time!"

"So you're gonna give up?" Todd said. "If that's the perfect solution, then we just need to try another tactic! We'll think of something! We just need to think of something _devastating. _Something to get Wally to see Kuki for the useless reject that she is!"

"Yeah, that should be easy," Connor said sarcastically. "I mean, it's not like he beating up the most popular quarterback in Gallagher High history because he _loves her _or anything. Yeah, breaking them up will be _easy._"

"What is WITH you, man?!?!?" Todd yelled. "Why are you being so negative?!? We'll get him! We just gotta put our heads together and think of something. And we will! Right Brooke?" They all turned to him.

"Yes," she said, calmness starting to enter her soul and confidence into her heart. "We will. Let's just think of it as a new challenge for us. A way to test the power of our status. Just give me time to think. I'll think of something, I always do. But this time, we're going to be the cruelest we've ever been. We've been going too easy on those two. We need to really lay it on this time, and put our meanest effort into it. We have to wreck their lives."

"I'm all for that!" Todd grinned, getting pumped. "Let's all think of ideas and meet up here! Let's destroy them for good! Whose with me?" He put his palm in the middle.

"Me!" Brooke exclaimed.

"I'm in!" Jared said.

Delilah hesitated, and Connor held his breath. "Um…" she said.

"Delilah, put your hand in!" Brooke barked at her. "You're one of us, we work together! Come on, girl!"

Delilah smiled broadly, and put her hand in. "I'm definitely in!"

Connor's heart sank, disappointment and anger filling him. He grit his teeth, and shot daggers at all of them when they turned to him.

"Connor?" Brooke said, irritated. "What're you waiting for? Put your hand in."

He just glared at her.

"C'mon dude, you heard her! Give us your hand!" Todd growled.

He glared at him then.

"Connor," Delilah whispered. "What're you doing? Don't you want to help us?"

His eyes turned to her this time, but anger was not in his hazelnut orbs. Instead there was pain, regret, and sorrow. He was so tired of messing with Wally and Kuki's lives. He wanted to stop thinking about them. He didn't want to pick on them anymore. All he wanted to do was leave them alone and live his own life.

_But you have to watch over her._

He put his hand in.

* * *

Wally felt like pounding his head against the desk. Why did math have to be so. Dang. Complicated?!?!?

_I hate this, I hate this, I hate this…_ he thought, trying to make sense of all the letters and shapes and how they were supposed to mesh together to make an answer to an equation. _It doesn't matter at all how much Kuki helps me; I'm always gonna suck at this crud!_

If only he had it with her. Then she could help him with the stupid worksheet he was working on, the one the teacher had assigned to them. She wasn't there, which meant a substitute, which meant doing pointless extra worksheets that they would've never done in the first place if she weren't absent.

_I hate this I hate this I hate this…_

All he had done so far was doodle on the margin of the worksheet. And they weren't very good either. Even the little skulls he drew looked terrible.

He had done that, and he'd been thinking. He thought of numerous things, like what he wanted for dinner, what wrestling match was on, what Matt and Chase were doing…

And, of course, his girlfriend.

They had had a couple of lessons, and things were looking up. It was going very, very slowly, but she was improving, nonetheless. She wasn't as shy about punching the dummy, although she still hit it with at least some reluctance. They continued to do the little skits where they pretended to insult each other, so he could demonstrate self-defense and so she could practice those skills. She still had a lot to improve; there was still too much hesitation, and too much giving in to the enemy. They both still had a lot of work to do. But despite that, he still believed one-hundred percent that he could help the girl, and make her an even better person than she already was. It was his number one goal at the moment. If there was anything he was focused on at the time, it was that. And he was determined for them to succeed.

That wasn't all he thought about though. He had talked to his mates over the webcam the night before, and they said something quite interesting…

"_So…How long have you two been going out now? A few weeks? A month?" Matt asked, pulling his huge hat out of his face. "Fill us in, mate."_

"_Oh! Well…Hmm….Lemme think…." he answered, scratching the top of his cranium. "Uh…I guess…About two months? Yeah, somewhere around there. Why?"_

"_Wow!" Chase exclaimed. "That's a good start for your first relationship. A lot of em' just last a few weeks, sometimes just days…"_

_The Australian chuckled. "Yeah, maybe for __**you**__. You go through girls like this," he commented, snapping his fingers. "How many girlfriends have you had? Twenty? Forty? A hundred? I lost count."_

_Chase huffed, pretending to look peeved, while Matt laughed, saying, "Ha ha, he got you Chase!"_

"_What do you mean? You do it too, mate," Wally pointed out. "Maybe even more than him!"_

"_Okay, okay, we get it!" Chase said, waving the topic off. "We aren't as __**picky **__as you are, we don't have good taste, blah blah blah! Shut up. We're talkin' about YOU."_

"_What about me? Whatcha wanna know?" he asked, pulling up his desk chair, sitting in it and comfortably setting his feet on the table. _

"_Well, two months is a long time," Chase explained. "Did you celebrate?"_

"_Celebrate?" A puzzled look went across Wally's face. "Celebrate what?"_

_Matt groaned. "Oh, please don't tell me you didn't just ask that question? Are you telling me you haven't celebrated at all?"_

"_Celebrate what?!?!?" Wally asked again, irritated. "Tell me that, and then I can give you an answer! Sheesh!"_

"_Your month anniversary!" Matt said, sounding urgent. "Man, I can't believe you didn't do that! Don't you know __**anything **__about dating girls?!?!? Or are you just that stupid?"_

"_I ain't stupid!" Wally protested, ignoring the fact that what he just said was grammatically incorrect. "And what are you talkin' about? A month anniversary? You people actually celebrate dating for one month? One. Month? Are you crazy?"_

"_Hey, WE didn't come up with the idea!" Chase stated. "That was something girls created due to their romantically tainted minds! They LOVE that sort of thing. My last girlfriend talked about it all week before the month was actually over! I had to make a special dinner for her and everything!"_

"_Yeah, so don't blame us!" Matt said. "It's a girl thing."_

"_Yeah, well, Kuki didn't say anything about a month anniversary, so hah! I don't have to worry about it!" Wally said with a grin. "So take that! See, I know how to pick women."_

_The two boys just stared at him, at each other, and then dropped their heads, shaking them. "You're hopeless," Chase said. _

"_A lost cause," the other commented._

"_Ugh!" Wally groaned, having enough of their way of saying things without explaining them. "What's wrong with me THIS time?"_

"_Dude," Matt said. "You can't just assume you don't have to celebrate anything just because the girlfriend doesn't say something about it. Girls are all the same, man. They want a one-month anniversary alright. They crave it. They LONG for it…"_

_Wally rolled his eyes. His friends were so dramatic._

"…_Kuki is just too nice and sweet to say anything about it," he continued. "She's also probably too shy to say anything. But I can guarantee you that she's thought about it. She's a girl. All of em' think about it." Chase nodded in agreement._

"_Kuki's not like other girls. I'm sure I don't have to worry about it," Wally replied, waving it off. Chase laughed._

"_That's a funny thing for you to say. I can recall you saying a lot of stuff on girls, like 'All cruddy girls are the same! None of em' are different! They're just a bunch of sissies!' Am I right, or am I wrong?" His lips turned into a smirk._

_Wally furrowed his brows and frowned at the guitarist. "Well, I was wrong, okay? Alright, I've said it. I was wrong! Kuki's different. I don't have to worry about it!"_

_More sighs. "Fine, believe that if it makes you feel better," Matt said. "But if you change your mind, you're gonna have to make it a two-month anniversary. You're too late for a one-month though."_

"_We can only hope that you'll come to your senses and do that before she kicks you to the curb," Chase agreed. _

"_Of course, if that happened, I could take her…"_

_Matt sneered. "Who says you'd get her? I want her."_

"_I called her first."_

"_No you didn't!"_

"_Oh, okay then. I call first shot."_

"_No way! It doesn't work like that!"_

"_Who says?"_

_-----------_

Wally shook his head at the memory, smiling. When did he get such weird and crazy mates?

But it did get him thinking. Were they right? Was that true? Did Kuki really want a two-month anniversary? Was she resenting him for it?

He certainly hoped not. To avoid thinking about it, he glanced back at the dreadful worksheet in front of him. He groaned at it. If math were a person, he would've kicked his butt a long time ago so he would never bother him again.

"Need help?"

His head swiveled to the kid who sat next to him, and he grit his teeth.

"I don't need any help from _you,_" he said to Connor, his eyes fierce. "Besides, shouldn't you be prancing around with your stupid popular friends? Picked on any helpless victim lately, by the way? 'Cause I would just _love _to know."

Furrowing his arms, Connor turned back to his work. "Fine," he said. "Go ahead and struggle on that. I mean, I only have an A in here, and we're in this class for…Oh, let's see…Another _forty _minutes? Oh look, and I only have a few more problems to go…"

Wally blinked. "You're almost _done? Already?"_

"I told you," he said with a smirk. "I've got an A in here. I'm a whiz with numbers."

"But you're popular," Wally interjected. "I thought you people didn't care about grades."

"And I thought you weren't into girls the first day you were here, when Brooke was pretty much flashing herself in front of you," he countered. "But look where you are now."

Despite how much Wally was hating Connor right now, he had to admit…The guy had guts.

"So what do you say, _pal? _You need help or not?"

"Oh, and what? You gonna give me the wrong answers?" Wally said, crossing his arms. "'Cause believe me, I'm not falling for that trick."

"Guess you won't know 'till the teacher grades it. You gonna take the risk?"

Wally gave him a cold hard stare, though it had no effect on Connor. Would he take the risk?

_I take risks all the time, _he reasoned, making his decision. _What's another one gonna do?_

"Alright," he said, sliding his desk next to his. "But if they're the wrong answers, I'll pound ya."

The minutes passed, and soon, Connor had helped Wally finish.

"All right!" Wally said, pumping a fist. "I'm all done! Sweet! And there's only…" he turned to the clock. "Ten minutes left! Yes! I hate math."

"What? I love it," Connor said.

"How can you love it?" he asked, giving him a look as if he were crazy. "It's the stupidest thing to ever be invented, _ever._"

"It wasn't invented, dude. They're _facts._"

"Nuh-uh! Someone made numbers up, right? So, math's an invention."

"Numbers have been here since the beginning of time!"

"No way! Cavemen didn't use it, did they? I don't think so."

Connor just sighted. "Okay, whatever."

Wally smiled, pleased with victory. "That's right. Oh, and by the way…" Wally frowned. He hated being nice to someone he didn't like. "Thanks, I guess. You know, for helping me."

"You're welcome."

"But don't think I like ya or anything!" Wally warned him, pointing. "Cause I _don't._ I don't like _anyone _in this school, except Kuki."

Connor smiled at that. Secretly, he admired the Aussie's devotion to the delicate Asian girl. "Man, you're lucky…" he said distantly.

"Huh?"

"You know, with Kuki. You've got your girl. Me…" He just sighed, a sad look taking over his naturally tanned face. "I don't…Delilah isn't with me…"

Wally backed off a little bit, giving the guy another weird look. "Yeah…" he said, slowly backing his desk away from him. "I do…Um…Just gonna go over here now…"

"How'd you do it?" Connor asked suddenly, looking at Wally.

"Do what?"

"You know…Tell Kuki you liked her?"

He paused, taking time to think. "Actually, it was kind of an accident…" he said, remembering the night of Brooke's party. "I was telling her how great I thought she was since _you _and _your _friends _hurt _her, and I…I dunno…" Suddenly he shook his head, snapping himself out of his out-of-character moment. "Anyways, why do _you _care?" A blush fell across his face. Connor grinned at that.

"Can't I just ask you an honest question?" he asked him. Wally frowned.

"No. No, you can't." He looked at the bell, then the substitute. He was a wiry old man, dressing up in a sweater vest that was way out of date. He looked half-asleep, and was staring blankly at some old book. He grinned.

"Well, I think I'll just step out a little early. See you later…Weirdo."

And with that, Wally sneakily and quietly snuck out of the room and out the door, laughing to himself in the hallway. Connor just watched and sniggered. _Devious dude…_

Of course, Connor had a reason for all the questions for Wally. He was kind of hoping for maybe some kind of answer, some kind of advice.

Because, privately, he was extremely jealous of him. Kuki too, for that matter.

_Why can't Delilah and I be like that? _he wondered, slowly starting to roll his pencil back and forth on his desk, not caring if someone found it annoying. _If only she didn't idolize Brooke so much. Maybe then she'd go back to her old self, the fun Delilah. The cool Delilah. The Delilah I used to know, the one who used to be my best friend._

They used to be more like Wally and Kuki. They used to be really close, the best of friends. They had known each other since elementary school. Connor was the cool, laid back one, while Delilah was really unique. She used to be totally different. She had loved to skate, either with boards or roller blades, and had collected all sorts of kid-type things, like rocks and stickers. She had loved doing crazy things too; karaoke, dancing sporadically, riding super-fast roller coasters, creating strange yet tasty meals with random ingredients…Stuff a lot of people didn't do.

She had been a free spirit, doing whatever she pleased.

And Connor had loved her madly for it.

But then she met Brooke, and decided that she was everything she had ever wanted to be. She dropped skating; Brooke said that was something punks did. She no longer collected random things; Brooke said it was childish. And Brooke said doing weird things like dancing and singing whenever you wanted (Delilah used to have a habit of singing a random song for no reason) made you no friends.

Brooke, Brooke, Brooke, Brooke.

So, she stopped doing it all. She made herself into a completely different person. Now, she was almost like Brooke's clone.

Yet, Connor still loved her, because he knew the old Delilah was in there. He had seen many signs of it. On days where Brooke was absent or even gone for the moment, he had seen her creatively enhance her food, just like she used to For example, one time when the coast was clear, Delilah put whipped cream on her milk. One time at a store, Delilah oh-so-secretly put some sheets of sparkly unicorn stickers in with her shopping basket full of Brooke-approved makeup.

And only Connor knew that she skated in the park on Sundays when Brooke was getting her nails done, singing songs from artists no one had ever heard of.

The old Delilah was in there somewhere, and Connor desperately wanted her back out in the world. He just needed to find a way to do it.

Until then, all he could do was stay jealous of Wally and Kuki's relationship, and stick with the popular people. That was the only way he could watch over her, and make sure Brooke didn't take advantage of her.

He had another secret too; he could've cared less about popularity. He didn't hate Kuki nor Wally at all. He just pretended to so he could hang around Delilah and the Populars. He hated himself for it, and in his mind he grimaced when he saw the crushed face on Kuki's face when they made fun of her and hurt her. But he was a good actor, so it had all seemed genuine. He knew that his love for Delilah was no excuse for hurting the poor girl, and he wouldn't be surprised if he went to Hell for it.

Oh, and he despised Brooke. In his freshman yearbook, he drew horns, a mustache, and a goatee on her face. She was the perfect Devil.

But oh well.

He played along with the Populars anyway.

_Love makes you do stupid, terrible things…_He thought, rubbing his queasy stomach. And because of that, he had to destroy Kuki's life even more.

Crud.

* * *

Brooke had been so upset over the couple that was "ruining her life," that she had almost completely forgotten about the fall dance.

Yes, the FALL DANCE. It was only the biggest event of the whole season. Every year, Gallagher High held the dance, a tradition that had been going on ever since the school had been built in 1952. It was one of the three biggest dances the school hosted, next to the Prom and Homecoming. The other small dances the school had throughout the year, such as the Halloween Festival and the Spring Fling were not quite as possible (Brooke hosted a party on the same night as the Spring Fling, thus lowering the dance's popularity).

Thank goodness that Muffy Jenkins reminded her that there was a Fall Dance committee meeting after school. Brooke was the president of that committee, Muffy being her vice president.

There was no better therapy then planning for a big dance. Brooke had already started going through dress magazines and browsed the stores, looking for the perfect dress. Todd's injuries were healing fast (phew) and was going to be her perfect date, with the perfect hair and tux. The decorations were going to be flashy, shiny, sparkly, exciting…The food would be delicious and exquisite. It would be the best shindig yet.

And for some reason, Brooke felt that the dance this year was going to be BIG. She didn't know why, but she just had that feeling. She and the committee got to work right away, and had posters up by the next morning, eager to get the word out.

* * *

Wally was still contemplating whether Kuki wanted a two-month anniversary celebration when he came across the said posters.

He stuck out his tongue and let out a "blech!" at the sight of the glittery, gaudy paper. Wally hated dances. He may have liked them when he was younger, but nowadays the thought of them just made him want to gag.

It wasn't that he couldn't dance. He actually loved to break out and dance, but in private, listening to his own music. He even considered himself a pro at it. It also wasn't because he was shy; that was a no-brainer.

No, it was neither of those things. It was just what the event of a dance stood for. When the word dance came to mind, he thought of corny songs, couples being mushy in public, hot air from body heat and sweat, and slow dancing. It made him shudder. To him, it was just a stupid excuse for teens to get together and suck face.

He had been to a dance before too, which hadn't helped with his opinion of dances. Freshman year Matt and Chase had persuaded him to go to Homecoming with him. They had said he was antisocial and that he needed to get out more. To seal the deal, they even dared him to do it.

Wallabee Beetles never turned down a dare. Not even as a teen.

So, much to his dismay, he rented a tux and dragged himself to the stupid thing. It was hot, and popular songs he had heard a thousand times were blaring out of the DJ's sound system. Girls instantly started to flirt with him, which just annoyed him and made him uncomfortable. The sight of guys and girls dancing too close together and touching each other inappropriately just made him sick. He hated it, and decided that he had fulfilled his dare, and left only after an hour. From that day on, Wally vowed he would never go to a dance again.

But, with nothing else to do, Wally read the stupid poster anyway. It said:

_The Fall Dance is Back!_

_That's right, Gallagher students! It's that time of the year again! Time for fun, excitement, and maybe even a new romance! Don't delay on buying a ticket now! This year's going to be better than the rest! Buy dance tickets TODAY!_

_When: Friday, October 13_

_Where: Gallagher High School Gym_

_Cost of Ticket: $5.00_

_Cost of photos: $3.00_

_Why: There will be music, dancing, food, drinks, and a whole lot of fun!_

_Other information: If you plan on bringing someone who does not attend Gallagher High, please have your guest sign a visitor form from the office and pay a small fee._

_See you there!_

Wally laughed out loud. _How corny is this?!?_ he though, grinning. _Hah, that dance is gonna be so stupid!_

He walked away, still chuckling to himself.

_Ha ha ha, that was funny! Now, what should I do for Kuki for that anniversary thing…?_

* * *

**I hope that last little bit gave you a little bit of foreshadowing! I'll try to update as soon as I can, but that may be a while. I'm so busy! Gah…. _Now _there's only two chaps to go! **


	21. Calm Before the Storm

**This chapter is dedicated to SonicManipulation, a reviewer who has touched me with his words and feelings. Thank you so much, Sonic. I hope you find everything you're looking for. No, you WILL find it. I know it!**

**And to all the Panda Warriors: I'm so sorry I haven't been on in a buhmillion years!!! I still love you guys though, I assure you! Alie, you still impress me with your art! (The last chap is gonna be dedicated to you guys!)**

**Oh, and I would also like to say that the students at my school are nothing like the ones in this story. The people at my school are for the most part pretty awesome. I love my school…Not the actual building so much, and the pep rallies suck, and the breaks should be longer, but other than that, it's cool. I like dances, too. Par-tay!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door or anything affiliated with it. I do own Brooke and Todd and Chase and "Waa waa wa wa waaaa." (Imagine a voice through the telephone in Charlie Brown cartoons. I don't own him either, by the way.)**

**LET US BEGIN!!!!!**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 21

The Calm Before the Storm

Kuki Sanban knew absolutely nothing about dances.

Oh, yeah, she'd seen them on television and in movies…Girls wearing expensive sparkling dresses, guys in crisp clean tuxedos, top twenty music blasting from the DJ's mega-huge amps, decorations everywhere the eye can see, lights flashing, teens dancing close, romance, excitement, drama…

It wasn't exactly Kuki's style.

She remembered that she loved dances when she was younger. Her memories consisted of her skinny tall delicate self, clad in an adorable pink satin dress with a blue bow wrapped around her, a grin on her face, singing in a cheerful, perky manner "Party! Ice-cream party! Party! Ice-cream party!"

Apparently ice cream parties had been her favorite.

But since she had gotten older with a new personality, she had learned to be rather anxious at the thought of parties. Not only hadn't she been to one in _years_, but she just knew she didn't belong.

Especially ones sponsored by _school._

She was used to the yearly excitement from all her fellow classmates, chattering and squealing and jumping up and down (most of it being from girls), wondering what the dance will be like and how it will be different from the previous years. It was practically the only topic spoken about during the whole month before it came, and the month after.

Kuki hated all the hubbub. She could never share the excitement and happiness radiating off the happy people of Gallagher High. She had never once in her life shopped for a fancy prom dress; she wasn't very knowledgeable about the latest hit music; she had never been to any of the other dances, so she couldn't make comparisons with the dances; when it came to decorating, she knew nothing of colorful paper banners or blinding dizzying lights. She knew squat about it.

At school, she thought of herself as an alien from another planet, lost on the small random rock that was called planet Earth, unknowing of all the customs and trends of the new and strange place. There were days where she didn't feel like that very much, and others where she was certain she wasn't an earthling. Dance season was one of those times.

She walked in the next morning, and had completely forgotten that the dreaded season had approached. It made sense, due to all the changes that had taken place in her life. But she felt like slapping herself when she was reminded of the oncoming social event.

The worst part is the news came to her all at once. The posters were everywhere like the plague, plastered anywhere on the walls where there had been empty space. Crowds and crowds of people were gathered around them, as if it were a museum display. The only difference was they weren't in tourist apparel, and no cameras were flashing (though there might as well have been.)

And the _noise! _It was almost as bad as white noise! The guys were talking about what girls were going to say yes to them, their new dance moves, and the food. The girls themselves were talking about what guys would ask them out, where to get a dress, and whatever else they could think of.

It was like a crummy horror movie: _The Curse of High School Dance. BEWARE!_

At least, it felt like a curse to Kuki Sanban. But while she still got that sinking, lonely feeling inside her stomach, she actually was able to do something different this time. She actually perked herself up, thanks to a mental picture of her favorite blonde Australian.

_Knowing him, he probably hates dances, _she thought, smiling to herself. _He might even make fun of it, for all I know! _

She heaved herself a sigh of relief, that lighthearted feeling she got from him returning again.

_It's so nice…To know I don't ever have to be alone again._

* * *

Wally was surprised he hadn't gone bald yet. He was sure he would, due to the fact that he'd been pulling his hair in frustration the past two days.

He still didn't know what he was going to do for the stupid anniversary thing. He still thought it was the dumbest idea ever invented in the history of forever (his words exactly). He hadn't even mentioned the whole thing to Kuki yet. According to his mates, since she was the kind of girl to stay quiet, he was supposed to propose his idea to her himself, like he had thought of it all along.

_Well, _he thought bitterly, biting his lip, _I never thought of the stupid thing in the first place, and I don't HAVE any ideas, so it really shouldn't apply to me!_

Of course, he had said that exact same thing to Chase and Matt, but with no avail. They said he still had to do it. But Wally was stubborn. He still thought he was right. Yet…He still couldn't find himself to act on his belief.

_Curse you, Kuki! _He thought teasingly, not meaning it. _Curse you for making me soft!_

Not only that, but the stupid dance that was advertised on the ridiculous overdone posters was the only thing on peoples' minds nowadays. Even the boys were talking about it! It made him even more ashamed to be a student at that school. What was wrong with these people? Didn't they realize there was more to life than a stupid dance? Like wrestling and candy, for instance. Those were _way _more important.

And besides, he thought it was more fun to just hang out with your mates than spending the whole night around acquaintances you went to school with everyday.

At least he decided that he'd try to come up with something the night of the dance. That was the perfect date, since they wouldn't have as big a chance to run into anybody from school. But he had to think _fast. _October 13 was only a week away, the day of the dance. He didn't have much time.

"Hi Wally."

He whipped his head around after scrounging around in his book bag, looking to see if he had any packs of gum in there. "Kooks! Hey!" he said, smiling to her while still searching around inside his backpack with his hands. "What's up?"

"Nothing," she said, smiling sweetly with her arms holding her history book delicately. "It's pretty hectic in the main halls though. Did you see it? Everyone's getting all excited over the posters."

He grimaced at the thought of all the glitter and sticker letters. "Ugh, yeah, I saw em' too. It's pathetic."

"It is? So…you don't like dances?"

_Uh oh…_ Wally thought cautiously, thinking she wanted to go. "Uh…" he said, racking his brain for some kind of answer. He didn't want to hurt her feelings. "I don't…have a large desire to attend one," he answered, using the best vocabulary he had. "I'm just not that into it, I suppose."

Kuki couldn't help but let out a little laugh at his huge attempt to be nice about it. "Me neither," she agreed, covering up her mouth from her giggle. "I think I would feel really uncomfortable going to one."

"R-Really?" He blinked in wonder. _That definitely wasn't what I was expecting._

"Yeah," she said, smiling in relief. "I was hoping you weren't really into it either. Now I don't have to worry about it."

"Me too! I mean, I _hate _those things! I was afraid you would've wanted us to go, and I'd have to wear a tux and be around all those people…"

"With music I don't really know and hot and sweaty air from everyone dancing and crowding around you…" Kuki added.

"And lights that blind you…" Wally continued.

"And I don't want to spend my money on that," she said.

"Yeah!"

"Yeah!"

Wally grinned, ecstatic that Kuki felt exactly the same way. He put his arm around her proudly. "Man, Kooks, we really are somethin', huh?"

She beamed along with him. "Yeah, we really are," she said. "Do you…Do you think we could do something else instead? I mean, I know we're together all the time, you might wanna be alone…"

Wally stopped walking and gave her a hard stare that said, _Are you kidding me? _"Kuki," he said, using his Look-at-me-I'm-a-teacher voice, "What did I tell you about that? You gotta stop doin' that to yourself. I _like _hanging out with you, and lots of others will too. Stop thinking you're some annoying girl that clings on to other people, because you're not. Got it?"

She nodded, an ashamed look on her face. "Got it."

"Good. Now smile and let's keep walkin', hmm? Don't wanna be late for English." Out of all his classes, he never minded English quite as much as the others. It was a class that had a lot of more creative prospects involved. He didn't _love _it of course, but it was definitely tolerable.

"Right," she said, trashing her former mood and regaining her happy, delighted one. "Thanks Wally," she said affectionately. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

He tried to hide his blush, but didn't succeed. "Aw, no problem," he said, rubbing the back of his head like he always did when he was embarrassed. "It's what I'm here for. Anyways, I think we _should _do something after the dance, 'cause I was talkin' to Chase n' Matt…"

He explained to her what they told her about the month anniversaries and how important it was, hiding the fact that he found the idea absurd.

Once he was done explaining, a confused look took over her face. "They said it was necessary?" she said, her mouth open in a little 'o'. "I didn't even know I was supposed to want an anniversary."

"Really? They said all girls want one. We just thought you wouldn't say anything about it because you're shy and quiet."

"Well, I'd _heard _of them before," she clarified, "but I never really thought about us having one." She gave Wally a half-hug, sensing his anxiety over the whole thing. "Don't worry about it, Wally," she assured him. "We don't need to have one." A faint blush came over her face, like a sunset turning red at dawn. "I just like being with you, is all…"

Wally, not for the first time that day, was once again overcome with surprise. _Kuki, you really are different from everybody else…_ he thought admirably.

She was such a special girl, special to him in a way nobody had ever been to him before. He would never deny his deep feelings for her, would never stop that warm feeling that overcame him at the sight of her.

_Ah, dang it, _he thought, once again thinking of the effect she had on him. _I'm gonna throw her an anniversary thingy anyway._

But instead of cursing Kuki for that, he blamed his heart.

* * *

Even though Wally decided that he would indeed plan an anniversary, he yet had the same problem; what to do? It had to be special, he had been taught. No eating at a cheap place, no arcade, no movies, no nothing. Chase and Matt had suggested things like outdoor picnics, or walks on the beach, but there were problems with that.

First of all, it was too cold out to do either of those. And with the picnic, well, Wally didn't know how to cook anything. And sandwiches and instant ramen wouldn't really work, he thought. And as for the beach thing? That was WAY too much of a cliché for him. Classic, yes, but…He felt it needed to be a little more original than that. They could do that another time, anyway.

"Man, you look really tense. You doing some math again, or is it something else this time?"

_Oh no, _Wally thought, rolling his eyes in annoyance. _Not this guy, again._

"Ha ha, you're so funny," he said, not very jokingly like it was meant to be. "I'm rollin' on the floor laughing."

Connor smirked, taking note of the harsh sarcasm. "I like to be referred to as the class clown," he commented, taking the initiative to sit next to him in study hall.

This gave Wally an extreme feeling of suspicion. What was he doing? "What are you doing?" Wally said, giving him something that resembled a stink-eye, one eye open wide with the other more like a squint. "You think we're close buds now or somethin'? I liked the help with the math, but-"

Connor put his hand up in defense, shaking his head. "No, nothing like that, calm down Hercules," he said, making fun of his manly, muscled stature. "I just find you interesting to talk to."

Wally snorted, sort of fascinated at his answer. "Why? 'Cause I'm a rebel to the school society? 'An outcast' as you guys call it? Glad to amuse you, chump."

"What? No, that's not it!" Connor said, sincerely trying not to insult him. "Really! I just…I dunno…I guess I like you a little bit?"

Wally glared at him, frowning. He was sure he was playing a trick on him. He got closer to his face, menacingly. "Look buddy," he said, talking in a way that assured the popular guy that they were anything _but _buddies. "I don't know what kind of game you're playin', but I don't like it. So why don't you drop it while you can still walk without limping?"

Most people would've been taken aback with the tough Australian's answer, but not Connor. While he couldn't state that he didn't feel a small sense of fear from him, he was expecting threats. He was a great actor, after all, and actually seemed as if he truly hated the girl Wally loved. His dedication to the delicate girl was amazing. It made him feel as if he and Wally were somewhat alike. He did, after all, only stick to the popular kids just to watch over Delilah.

"I like walking," Connor said, hoping maybe to get a laugh out of him. But when Wally was in the mood he was in at that moment, he was rock solid. He didn't even get a mere chuckle from him.

"I know you do," Wally said, slowly backing up from him. "So I'm gonna be nice for once and let you continue to do that. Just leave me alone, alright?"

"But…"

"But what?" Wally said, angered and exasperated. _Couldn't he just drop the cruddy act already? _(If only he knew what kind of act Connor was _really_ performing.) "What do you want from me? Secrets? Info on Kuki? 'Cause I'm not tellin' you anything!"

"I just want to talk to you!" he protested.

"Why?"

"I don't know," he said, perplexed and confused. "I don't know. I just do." _Maybe because I'm kinda like you, in a small way. _"I just want to talk to you. It's study hall, I have nothing to do…I just want to talk. I don't need to know anything about Kuki. I'm not trying to trick her. I just wanted to know why you look so anxious."

_Wow, _Wally thought in amazement, looking at his facial expressions, analyzing the sound of his voice. _He actually sounds like he's telling the truth!_

He still didn't _completely_ trust him though, and definitely didn't want to become his friend. But, he didn't have anything to do either (well, nothing he _wanted _to do), so he caved.

"I'm just new to this boyfriend crud," he said, obviously still agitated. "I'm givin' Kuki an anniversary thing and I don't know what the heck I'm going to do."

Conner didn't know it, but when Wally used _heck_ (or 'h, e, double-hockey-stick') instead of _crud, _he was deeply distressed.

"Ah," Connor said, immediately understanding the situation. "That is a dire problem, indeed. I've had a few girlfriends myself…"

_Back when I was trying to get over Delilah…_

"And I only managed to date one for a month. Rita was her name, I remember. Crazy curly brown hair, big eyes to match, slightly dark skin…She was a looker, alright. 'Course, I stayed for her so long because…Uh…" He didn't want to tell him the truth, the real truth. "I was real lonely…Yeah." _I told him about Delilah, but I won't let him know how pathetic I am. _"Anyways, she _demanded _that I throw the both of us some sorta anniversary party since we had been together for a month. I thought it was crazy. You don't see friends celebrating being friends for just a month, do you?"

Wally grunted in agreement. _At least he agrees with me_, he thought gruffly.

"So, I went ahead and tried to think of something. Rita said it had to be something really magnificent, really special. I had _no _idea what that meant. I mean, we each had our own different definition of magnificent and special. I always thought those new Star Wars movies were special. She hated science fiction. Ya know what I mean?"

The blonde nodded, starting to relax around him a little more. "Uh huh."

"Well, I made us a picnic at the park…"

_Bingo! _Wally thought. _So those ARE popular!_

"But Rita hated bugs…"

It didn't take Wally long to figure out two and two. "Oh…." he said, frowning. "Bad move, eh?"

"Oh, yeah, _really _bad move. She had a fly swatter. Let's just say I had imprints on my face once she was done with me, and it was over. We lasted exactly one month!" He sighed, remembering that time with the critical error. "Hooray…" The cheer was only no enthusiastic.

Wally couldn't help but be courteous enough to say, "Sorry mate…"

"Pssht, please. I'm over it. The point is, I understand your problem. I'm terrible at making those choices, evidently. Did Kuki ask you to do it?"

"No!" Wally said defensively. "She's a sweet girl that didn't want me to do it because she agreed it's a stupid thing."

"Huh?" Connor was perplexed, it didn't make any sense. "Then why the heck are you throwing her one?"

Once again, for the fiftieth time, Wally turned crimson. "Because I can," he said curtly.

"No, that's not it," he replied, smirking because he knew why. "It's because you want to, for her, isn't it?"

There was no reply, until a few minutes. "…I think it would make her happy," Wally admitted, crossing his arms and staring at the fake wood desk. It was really just plastic made to look like wood. "She deserves it. She says she doesn't want it, but…I think she would like it. I know she would, if I could make it really nice…"

Connor froze. He never knew just how…how _goodhearted _Wally really was. _He really is more than just some tough lug, _he thought, admiringly.

"When is it? When are you throwing the anniversary."

"October 13th."

"What? Well, that's easy!" He felt like smacking the side of his head. "That's the exact night of the dance, take her there! It's perfect!"

"NO," Wally said flat-out. "No way. Nuh-uh. Not a chance. Neither of us like dances, and _you _guys will be there. It'll be torture. Everyone will just pick on Kuki, and I want her to be _happy, _not miserable."

Connor made a "pssht" noise, as if it were an absurd thought. "Populars like me will be too busy dancing and being idiots to notice you guys. Especially Brooke, she'll be thinking about winning the crown as the Fall Queen. Delilah could win that, too…" He grew dreamy a moment. Wally had to snap his fingers to bring him back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, sorry! Um, as I was saying," he chuckled in extreme embarassment, "No one will notice you. And it's held in the gym, where only the center is really crowded. If you guys stayed in one of the blank spaces towards the side, you'll have plenty of room."

"But…But what if we can't dance?" he asked, alarmed. The idea started to sound good, he was that desperate, but he was trying to think of an excuse not to do it. He knew how to dance, but wasn't sure about Kuki.

"Who says you have to dance? Just bop a little to the beat, and you'll be fine. And for a slow dance, you just hold each other and sway side to side. You'll be too infatuated with each other to care," he said, smirking at the last part. "Listen, I know how you feel about the dances. A lot of people are uncomfortable going to them, and with Kuki, I imagine it's worse for her. But she always seems to be just fine when you're around. Slow dance with her, and she'll be the happiest girl alive. I've seen the way she looks at you, dude. You're everything to her. You won't find a lot of girls with that kind of affection. Do it, man. It'll be worth it."

Before he could convince Wally more with his persuasive speech, the bell ending study hall rang. Rising up, he slung his black book bag over his shoulder, and looked down at Wally, who still sat on the ground. "You won't regret going with her. She's everything to you, too. It'll be the best night ever. And no, I'm not trying to trick you," he said, noting the suspicious glint in his eye. He was as honest as he could be. He turned to go before deciding to say one last thing to the Australian.

With a mournful, truly regretful face, he turned his head and said to Wally, "And I'm sorry…For every horrible thing I've done to you and especially Kuki. I can't tell you why I did it, but…I never should've done it. I was the one who wrote a fake note imitating your handwriting to trick Kuki to get to the dance. That was the worst thing I've ever done. I will never, _ever _do it again. Consider it a super early New Year's resolution."

He left, leaving a speechless Wally staring after him, mouth agape.

_Who is __this guy?…I don't understand…_ He finally left after the teacher threw him out.

* * *

"Nobody will hurt you, Kuki. It'll be great, I promise."

He had made his decision. He didn't know what to expect, or what would happen, but it was the most special event that would be going on for a long time. He knew if he really made an effort, she would have a wonderful evening.

At the Gallagher High Fall Dance.

"B-B-But," stuttered Kuki, not believing what Wally was trying to convince her to do. "I thought we decided that we didn't need an anniversary, it's unnecessary."

"So? What's wrong with doing something unnecessary? C'mon Kooks, it'll be fun."

"B-B-But it's a d-dance!" she thought, quivering at the word. "I-I th-thought we b-both h-hated those! A-And everyone at school w-will b-be there, and, and…" she was shaking uncontrollably, she looked like she would explode from anxiety like a volcano.

He began to think he made a terrible mistake, but decide to try again. She was stuttering, shaking, stumbling…All signs that she was scared out of her mind.

"Kuki…Calm down," he said, his voice soft and sweet. He put his arms around her gently, yet sturdy, pulling her into a comforting embrace, burying his face in her river of black silken tresses. "It'll be okay…Shh…Just listen to me for a second."

He felt her body loosen, muscles slightly less tense than before. He stroked her hair gently, taking the time to let her hair flow through his fingers like water. He kissed her cheek, hoping it would help calm her even more. He was right, and Kuki buried herself in his shoulder. Half of herself was in bliss, the other still terrified at the though of the dance. Wally was hoping to calm that other half.

"I love you…" she muttered, embracing him tighter. "so I'll listen…"

He smiled, not because she agreed to listen, but because of the three little words she muttered before. They always made his day, those trio of words. "I love you too, which is why we should go," he said, still holding her. "I know you're terrified. I'm kinda nervous about it too. Not because of who'll be there, but just because I don't usually go to those. And nobody's gonna hurt you, Kuki. I'll be there, you've seen me fight. Nobody's gonna ruin _our _night, no way. And no, I won't get hurt either, so don't worry about it."

Kuki smiled to herself for a moment, buried in orange fabric. _He knows me so well._

"We'll find a place to be all to ourselves with not many people around, and just stick together and hang out. I'll pay for the tickets…"

"You don't…"

"I'm gonna pay for the tickets," he interrupted her, "and the photo too."

"We're getting…?"

"Yup. We take pictures every time, don't we?"

_He has a point there._

She gulped, hoping her anxiety would go away with it. "Why do you want to go so badly now?" she asked gently, not accusingly.

"Because I think we should give it a try…" _And it's the only thing I can come up with. _"I was telling the truth when I said I hated dances…But I might enjoy it more with you."

_I might enjoy it more with you._ Those words rang in her head like a bell. _I might enjoy it more with __**you. With you, with you, with you…**_

_I might enjoy it more with him, _she reasoned. _He's made everything better so far, after all._

"And besides, I think it'd be good practice for you!" he stated, releasing her and putting his hands on his sides, grinning like a goofball. "You need to get over your fear of insecurity, after all! Be bold, Kuki! Be courageous! This will be your first test on building your confidence! A trip outside my class and into the real world!" He leaned his head down, eye-to-eye. "Go for it, Kuki…" He said, dropping his teacher act. "Pass my test. Go to the dance with me. You can do it."

"What if I fail?" she asked, her whisper wrung with worry.

"Kuki, stop. What's wrong with what you just said?"

She knew immediately of her mistake. "I doubted myself. I need to believe in me."

"Yes," he told her, satisfied she understood so quickly. "Because you won't fail, Kuki. I know you won't."

His confidence in her made her feel stronger, made her stand straighter and think clearer. She was a window, and he the Windex. She smiled, a small gleam of confidence sparkling in her indigo irises. "I won't."

A warm wave of extreme tenderness and gratification took over Wally in the pit of his stomach, urging him to give her a sweet kiss, stroking her rosy face with his thumb, the other fingers holding her chin up towards him. Her lips were cold, it was a chilly night, and his were a little cool as well. They burned with a pleasant sort of fiery warmth when he broke the touch, all hints of cold gone. He hoped he had the same effect on her too.

Judging the look on her face, he'd say it did.

* * *

Lunch period was a time of the day that most people believed everyone thoroughly enjoyed. T'was a time to relax, a long moment to catch up with friends, and the only chance you got to provide yourself with sustenance while stuck in the educational prison. Everyone looked forward to lunch.

Well, almost everyone.

Connor usually loved lunch. He thought food was the greatest thing known to man, and he was the kind of guy that hungered easily, and blessed with a fast metabolism. He could eat only a whole bag of candy for lunch, and still get a good report from the doctor. He didn't know why he was blessed with such a gift, but he certainly appreciated it.

He loved lunch for that, and that he got to sit next to Delilah. He was happy just to be next to her. It was the only thing that remained the same since the good times with her. They had sat together for as long as he could remember.

Of course, Brooke just had to be on the other side of her, or lunch was just ruined. For Delilah and Brooke though, you could barely call it lunch period. It was more like crappy snack period, consisting of protein bars, slim-fast, and the occasional low cal gluten free sandwich. It depended how hungry they were.

_Ugh._

That day, however, Connor wasn't enjoying the duty-free period at all.

Why?

"It was just _so _funny!" Brooke exclaimed, eyes bright with enthusiasm. "Sara Don-Lee was the only one willing to climb up that huge ladder, which made sense since she _is _the head of the gymnastics team at the Youth Center," she was explaining. "Anyways, since she was using one hand to hold the banner up, she only had the other one to hold on to the ladder. You know, the gymnastics team must be really bad if she's the best there is, because she lost balance and fell flat on her face on the gym floor!"

She found this profoundly hilarious, and started laughing that melodious song of assorted chuckles. Well, actually, Connor thought she sounded like a wounded hyena, but whatever. The others thought it sounded pretty, and soon there was a chorus of laughing. Connor's face stayed sober.

"Why aren't you laughing, Connor?" Delilah asked, elbowing his arm. "Isn't that just _so _funny?"

"Oh, yes, definitely," he answered as sarcastically as possible, rolling his gold-flecked hazelnut eyes. "I'm just chortling with amusement on the inside. You just can't see it."

She slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "Oh, stop being so grumpy!" she scolded pleasantly, smiling with pearl-white teeth, her lips moist and glossy from Brooke-approved lip balm. "Cheer up!"

_I'll cheer up when you stop being so fake, _he thought, wishing he could say it out loud without hurting her feelings. "Yeah, I'll do that." His voice was as flat as paper.

"Oh my gosh, you know Connor, you're really dampening my mood," Brooke scolded, taking a file from her pocket to buffer her nails for the billionth time that day. "You really need to take a chill pill. Think about the dance! That will be so much fun! I did such a great job preparing for it this year!"

"Your best yet, Beautiful!" Todd chimed, putting his arm around her somewhat possessively. "Can't wait to see you crowned Queen this year!"

"You're not the only one who helped make preparations, Brooke," Connor spat. "And what makes you think she's gonna get the crown, Todd? Sure Brooke, you're pretty, but so are other girls too." He glanced at Delilah, and she noticed his reference to her. A faint rosy blush appeared, a satisfactory reaction for him.

"I am the president of the Dance and Events Committee," Brooke stated angrily, her growing anger with Connor evident. "I organize everything, it's all me out there, buddy. You should be thanking me! And I got the crown last year, and there's no one else more fit to have it than me!"

"You may be the president, Brooke, but there's no way you could put the dance on without any help. And…as for the crown…I'm not voting for you."

Imagine the loudest gasp you've ever heard. That gasp was not as enormous as the one that took place after Connor's bold and heroic statement.

"_What?_" Brooke said, after begging Delilah for a sip of her water. She felt her mouth go dry, her lips were agape so wide. "You're not _voting for me? _Why?!?!?" You could see her face turning into a red bomb of fury, definitely not a blush.

"Because I think there's someone else who deserves it more than you." He was really risking it here, but he decided he was done being one of her cronies. It was time for him to be, well, _him. _No more making fun of others, no more lying, no more pretending. And if he lost Delilah over it…

He tried not to think about that. He made his decision, and it was final.

"Who could be better than _me? _Who are you voting for?"

"None of your business," he said. "But if you must know…I think Delilah deserves it more than anyone."

This time only one gasped.

"I'm voting for you tomorrow," he said, turning to her swiftly. "I'm not going to the dance, but I'll stop by to see you get the crown, Dee," he said, using his old nickname for her.

"_Delilah? Her? _Are you freakin' kidding me?!?!?" Brooke couldn't believe it, and pounded her fist against the table. "She's nothing against me! I'm sorry Delilah….But you? No way! Not ever. You won't win, not against me. I know you dream of being like me one day, but…we're best friends, so I'll tell you the truth. You'll never be like me. Ever."

And then Connor saw her. For a second, he thought it was Kuki Sanban. The broken face, tears welling up, the gasps of the oncoming sobs….But then he blinked, and saw that the girl had red hair, and adorable freckles. Delilah.

No one did that to Delilah. Not with him around, ever. He decided then he'd take a stand, and be more like Wallabee Beetles. He was Wally, and she was his Kuki. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Don't listen to her, Dee!" he said, giving Brooke a look that easily rivaled her trademark Glare of Death. "She's a masochistic witch! She always have been! You should be glad Brooke said that! Because she's right, you're not her, because you'll never be as stupid and black hearted as her!"

"What?!?! You traitor!" she screamed. "You've been pretending all along! You've just been lying to us! You just did it just to be with your precious little _flower, _didn't you?"

"You're goin' down, jerk…" Todd said, once again trying to look like the toughest guy in school and pounding his fists. But Connor wasn't afraid. He knew who the real toughest guy in school was. And he was hoping that maybe, just maybe, one day they could be friends. But he couldn't think about that now. He was about to get pounded.

"You're right, little princess," he said mockingly to her. "That's exactly right. I've seen you abuse Dee like this, and I'm done. I can't stand to watch her anymore, and…" He realized he was acting as if she weren't there, when she was really next to her. "I miss the old Delilah. The one I really, really, _really _cared about…" He practically whispered.

"Connor…Connie…" she breathed.

Electricity ignited in his veins. He had hated it back then when she called him that, but at that moment it was the most beautiful name he ever heard.

"Enough of this emotional sentimental crap! Bring it, Connie!" Todd bellowed, mockingly using the nickname.

Now, Connor didn't want people to think he was a wimp, and he rather liked his dignity.

But, he thought his life was much more valuable than that.

So he bolted.

"Yeah, you better run, punk!" Todd threatened after him, not really making an attempt to go after him. The boy was _fast. _"And you'd better not come to the dance if you wanna live!"

"Don't worry!" Connor called over him, using the last of his courage to sound mean. "Kuki and Wally will take my place there! Goodbye forever, ha ha!" He laughed in joy. He would mourn over his broken relationship with Delilah later. For now, he was _free._

Little did he realize that he had revealed a very important piece of information, information that would never result into something good. But he was too busy grinning in victory to notice.

Thanks to her, Brooke knew exactly how to take down Kuki and Wally. _For good. _

* * *

Dresses were demons in the form of beautiful satin fabric, waiting to devour you with just one wear. They were like the mythical Sirens, tempting you with sparkles, ruffles, bows, sexy necklines, patterns, bold and soft colors…They blinded, hypnotized you with their varieties of colors, styles, fabric, sizes and shapes. They tricked you, letting you believe it'll be an easy fit, then break your spirit by magically turning to tight or too loose. Yes, dresses were a curse.

Kuki stood in the middle of a dress department of some store she had never been in, frozen in place as if her shoes were hot glued to the floor. Her eyes looked straight ahead, locked into place. And in her eyes…Pools of vast nothingness…

She could feel a headache growing in the center of her skull, feeling like Todd was pounding against her head with a meaty fist. The stinging brain pain felt as if it had an on/off switch, coming and going, coming and going, never fully stopping.

The mall had an evil, evil aura. She was certain of it. She only went there a few times a year, and that day she had already stepped onto a piece of used bubblegum. Surely that was a sign of oncoming doom…

But, like a miracle, she had a thought, the first one she had in what seemed like hours (but really a few minutes). She had thought her brain would never work again until she wondered: _How did I let Wally talk me into doing this?_

Her lips started to burn, and her skin that Wally had caressed with his calloused thumb started to tingle. His words repeated in her head. _I might enjoy it more with you…_

Ah, yes. That's why. Kisses and sweet words had swept her away to dreamland, therefore temporarily making her insane. _That's gotta be it! _

Of course, that didn't make the situation any better. She was still stuck in the Dress Emporium, more lost than a newborn kitten in the city. She wasn't used to these foreign lands…

"Kuki? What're _you _doing here?"

_Mushi?_

She whirled around gracefully, her eyes landing on her gothic, beautiful little sister, her arms racked with bags. _I hope she didn't steal Mom and Dad's credit card again…._Kuki thought, gulping. Her own card was stuck in her wallet, resting in the small black purse she carried on her small skinny wrists. "Hi Mushi…Getting some shopping done?" she asked her friendly, trying to hide her embarrassment. She had been hoping she wouldn't run into anyone she knew during her useless shopping endeavor.

"Yeah, so?" Mushi asked, her voice quite not as kind as Kuki's, but not exactly hostile. "What can I say? I like stuff."

Chuckling nervously, Kuki said, "Yeah, makes sense, heh heh. I didn't know that you um, were coming to the mall today."

"Nothing else better to do, dork," she said, putting her bags down to give her little arms a rest. "And _you _weren't at the house, so I thought I'd grab some chow while I was at it. I was just coming in here to see if they had this dress I saw the other day. Wasn't really expecting to see Queen Loser here. You lost or something?"

Wally's voice popped into Kuki's head, saying something she had learned from one of her lessons from his 'school'. _YOU'RE the big sister, not her. She acts like she's the superior one. Don't let her get away with it. It'll only hurt you more._

"I-I'm not Queen Loser," Kuki stuttered. It wasn't a very good attempt, but it was a start. "And I'm not lost." Ah, her confidence was stronger the second time. "I was just looking around for a dress. Wanna help me? I could really use your input."

Mushi cocked her eyebrow, then a light bulb went off. "Oh, that's right! Wally's taking you to the dance, isn't he?"

Kuki jumped, taken aback by her correct answer. "How'd you know? I haven't told anyone!"

Mushi shrugged, brushing her shoulders off after laying down the bags. "I spied on you guys last night, what else, dummy? Geeze, even Brent could figure that out, and he's the dumbest kid in my class. That Wally of yours is a good kisser, huh? He really lured you in with that sweet talk. The thumb stroking was really what sold it though."

Kuki thought her face was on fire, and that she would die in a pool of her own embarrassment. "Y-You, you, you…."

"Spied on you?" She smirked. "Heh heh, I'm a really good spy, you know. I've had a lot of practice, I love a good gossip."

"W-When did you start spying on us? H-Have you done that before?" Suddenly, visions of Mushi lurking behind them in the movie theater, the photo booth, the arcade, Umberto's…Maybe even the hangout! _Has she seen us…kissing that night? _she thought, remembering the field under the stars. (Chap. 17) She gulped.

"No, thank God. You think I want to watch you have a make-out session? Ugh," she cringed.

That just made Kuki want to die even more. She hated it when people described kissing as "making out." It sounded so _vulgar. _

"And I didn't even plan to spy on you in the first place. I was just walking back home from Sandy's house when I passed by that stretch of the park you guys were in. Curiosity got the best of me." Then she grinned, devilishly. "You never answered my question," she said evilly, staring her down. "Is Wally a good kisser? By the look on your face, I'd say he was quite…_magnifico." _The last word was said in a sexy tone, as she was purposely trying to make Kuki uncomfortable, a comically toothy grin plastered on her face.

"What?!?!?" Kuki jumped. "Mushi! Th-That's none of your b-business! I…I could ask you the same thing about Sandy!"

"Meh, he's alright," she said nonchalantly. "Could be a little more enthused about it. Sometimes it's like kissing a rock. I'll have to wait 'till Valentine's Day to get a real nice smooch from him…"

"MUSHI!"

"What? I was answering you question, you idiot!" Mushi said, pretending to be defensive. She had never had more fun with Kuki than now. "Now, answer mine! What's it like? He got a nice set of smackers?"

"What's gotten into you, Mushi? I don't want to answer this!" Kuki said, covering up her face. "This isn't like you at all!"

"Well, I guess I could be bitchy towards you like I always am…" she reasoned. "Or I could help you find a dress that'll make you look…Well, less homely. But you gotta answer my question first."

Kuki's eyes shot open faster than the speed of light. "Help me find a dress? You want to help me find a dress? But…You hate me!"

Her younger sister sighed, rubbing her face frustratingly. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I dunno. I've been really confused about you lately," she admitted, looking back at her with a straight face. "You're not the same, not anymore. You're happier now, not so gloomy. You're still the biggest loser in the world, but…"

Memories of what Mushi saw last night flashed through the young girl's mind. _He was looking at her like…Like he didn't want to be anywhere else…Like she was…_ She snuck a glance at her older sister. _Like she was really something special to him. Like he didn't care what anyone else thought about her. _

Wally was a tough guy, who didn't care what others thought of him. He made up his own mind on what he thought on others. He didn't care about popularity, or anything else stupid like that. If he loved Kuki, then that was that. Nothing else mattered.

Mushi wanted to be a tough girl, but she knew on the inside, she was more like Kuki. She was afraid of never being accepted for who she was. Her parents didn't seem to care, so why should anyone else? To others, Mushi made it seem as if she wanted to be popular.

She didn't. She was just trying her best to not end up like Kuki. And if she did, she thought it would be Kuki's fault, too. But it wouldn't be.

She knew that now.

She had asked Sandy and her really close friends if they would stick with her if she were to end up like her sister, with everyone picking on her. The answer had been unanimous: _Yes. _

And Mushi knew why Kuki ended up the way she did. She remembered the olden days; She remembered when her sister was more commonly known as _Numbuh 3, _not Kuki. She knew Kuki had nobody to stick with when middle school started; she had been alone.

She remembered who Wally was, too. But she didn't trust him when he came along after all those years. If Kuki changed, then he could too. And he did; he was smarter, and a little more understanding. _And a lot kinder too, _she thought, remembering the short bowl-cut boy with a loud-mouth and using only his fist to answer his problems. _He was such an idiot back then. _

And while Wally didn't remember who Kuki used to be, he had brought her out. Mushi had seen it; there had never been an Old Kuki or a New Kuki. She had been the same one all along. She was just a lot more shy, anxious, and scared. But she still had the same huge golden heart; she still loved the things she used to; still dressed in green; and her old, upside-down-rainbow smile had returned. Her laugh was the same, too.

_I don't have that many reasons to hate her now._

"But what?" Kuki said, interrupting Mushi's train of thought. Her voice was full to the brim with hope, as if she knew her sister was just about to say something nice to her. "What is it, Mushi?"

"But…" she began. "I think I understand you a little better now. A lot better. And, I dunno…Maybe I like you a little more." She grumbled this part under her breath. "You're not so bad, I guess…"

Kuki had excellent hearing. It wasn't as keen as a dog's or a bat's, but it was still quite advanced for a human being. "Oh, Mushi!" she said, jumping towards her and giving her a huge bear hug. "You mean you don't hate me anymore? You like me now? Oh, I'm so _glad!"_

The younger Sanban could barely breathe, suddenly remembering another thing about Kuki that hadn't changed. "Okay, okay…Can't…breathe…"

"Oops!" Kuki said, immediately letting her go, embarrassed. An ashamed blush overcame her. "I'm sorry, Mushi, I got carried away…"

She waved it off. "Shut up, dork. Don't think we're best friends or anything, alright? 'Cause we're not. Personal bubble, okay? Don't pop my personal bubble."

"Okay, I won't," she promised, that old smile on her face. "Thank you Mushi. I love you."

"Ugh, eew, don't get cheesy on me!" Mushi groaned. "Can we just find you a freakin' dress already? You're gonna make me puke. C'mon, you cheesy loser." She grabbed her sister's arm, making her follow.

The smile stayed.

* * *

_A Week Later…_

That night, Wally put his nice jacket on, the one his mother insisted he get for the occasion. A small box was tucked into its pocket, a surprise he had for his date. For once, he wasn't dreading the event he was preparing for. He was actually looking forward to it, if everything worked out the way he planned. It was the night of the dance, Wally and Kuki's two-month anniversary.

That night, Kuki blushed, looking at herself in the mirror. Did she look pretty in the dress she was wearing? It was pink, Mushi had said she needed to show herself in a variety of color so Wally didn't get bored…Was the makeup and hair too much? It was the night of the dance, Wally and Kuki's two-month anniversary.

Connor lounged on the couch, a small plastic bag hanging longingly on his right index finger. He wasn't dressed up, not really. A striped polo shirt and cargo pants, it was what he wore to school that day. He knew what Delilah was doing though…Getting ready for the dance. He prayed that when he walked by the school later that night, he would see her crowned Queen. It was the night of the dance, Wally and Kuki's two-month anniversary.

Brooke thought she had never looked sexier. The blood-red strapless gown she wore fit her perfectly, hugging her in all the right places. She had her hair made just right, so it wouldn't get messed up when the crown she would get would be placed on her head, after she was voted Queen. She grinned evilly to herself.

_Not only will I get the glory I deserve tonight, _she thought, a sick kind of excitement fluttering in her chest. _But I'll finally get my revenge too…_ The couple she had in mind flashed through her head.

It was the night of the dance, Wally and Kuki's two-month anniversary.

* * *

**Once again, this is dedicated to SonicManipulation. **

**Hopefully, if things work out right, the story will end in the next chapter. It depends on how long it turns out. I got a lotta things planned for the ending. Don't know if I can fit it all in. I put things I wasn't even **_**planning **_**into this chap. Hope you like it, or love it. Either way makes me happy.**

**Not quite sure what I'll do for Brooke's revenge though. It has to be totally unexpected and undetected. If you have any ideas, let me know, I'd really appreciate it. If not, I'll come up with something. *wink***


	22. Dance with Me

**Well, I didn't manage to finish the story with this chapter. Everything I want to happen is just taking up so many pages that I have to break up the chapter and make it separate. I'm sorry! At least that means there's more coming, right? I will try to finish this soon…*Sigh* **

**Disclaimer: Mr. Warburton owns and created Codename: Kids Next Door. The song Shake It is owned by Metro Station, and Ever the Same by Rob Thomas.**

**Notes: There is a little trip down memory lane in this chap, so here's some things so you know what happens:**

_**This font is music lyrics.**_

_-------_

_This is a memory, surrounded by small lines like the ones below and above, _and thoughts within the memories are like this. _Hope it makes sense!_

_------_

**Everything else is regularly portrayed. Thanks, and enjoy!**

* * *

A small white corsage lay in the palm of his hand, its fragile petals tickling his skin with its gentle touch. Piston stalks shot out from any scarce spot, finding its rightful tight place in between the pearly petals. It's original box had been discarded on a table, its purpose of protection not needed at the moment. The soft moonlight beaming out of the window, the satin curtains pushed aside, reflected off the beautiful flower, making it seem like the greatest gift Mother Nature could give.

He wondered if it would have looked as wonderful as it did if it were any other night, any other day. He wasn't sure. At the moment, he felt as if something weren't right, as if he weren't the man he thought he was. His gem green eyes stared, full of mystification and wonder, at the silvery mirror, revealing to him just what kind of man he had turned into.

_Was _he a man?

Or a boy?

He didn't know…He wasn't sure what he was at all…

_When was the last time I wore a sports jacket? _he thought, cocking his head at the reflection. _Have I ever even owned one before now? And what's with the shoes…?_

His eyes flicked quickly down to his feet, which were know adorned in shiny black shoes. They were so illuminated that he could see his own face staring down at it, his hair combed (with, yes, a small bit of gel) and his skin fresh from rigorous cleansing with scented soap.

The only thing that didn't really confuse him were his black pants, an article of clothing he had worn many times before at special occasions. Though, usually, he wore them with some sort of nice shirt…Not a, a…._sports jacket!_

Where did Wallabee Beetles go? He must be _somewhere…_

To answer his question, he put on his trademark smirk for a moment, just to see if he could still do it to prove Wally was still in there. It was awkward, trying to smile like that, without having someone to give it to. Despite this, he managed to do it, his devilish grin immediately giving him a rebellious, tough look. Ah, there he was!

_Good…I don't wanna turn into some kind of pansy or somethin'…_

Satisfied now, he returned the corsage to its home, closing the box and shoving it into his jacket pocket. He'd give it to its destined owner later…

"Wally! Are you ready yet?!?!?" his mother called, a sense of urgency in her voice, mixed with a large dose of excitement. "You've been up there for a half hour, two minutes, and thirty-seven seconds! Are you _planning _to keep her waiting?"

Wally rolled his eyes with a grunt. "Comin', mum!" he said, closing the door to his room and showing up at the top of the stairs. "Don't get your apron in a knot."

"Keep that attitude and you'll find yourself without a girlfriend," Mrs. Beetles warned her son, wiggling a ladle at him. "And I simply will not tolerate you growing old alone!"

Once again, his eyes rolled. "Yes, mother. I'll get goin' right now."

"Ah ah ah!" she scolded, giving him a disapproving look before walking up and re-adjusting his tie, though it had been perfectly fine beforehand. "No using that vulgar shortening of words! You should've said, 'I'll get _going _right now', is the proper language for a fancy date such as this."

"Mum," he said, giving her an 'are you serious?' look. "It's a school dance. I definitely don't think etiquette is gonna be-"

"_Going _to be."

"a big priority there. You do know everyone there goes to high school, right?"

"Just because you go to high school with a bunch of brutish children doesn't mean you have to be one too…Oh, you did not just roll your eyes at me!" She bopped his head with her ladle, making him go "Ooph!"

"Honor thy Father and Mother, Wallabee Beetles! One day, you're going to thank me for all this! Now get your jacket and get out of here. You don't want to be late!" She smacked his hindquarters to get him walking.

"Ow! Alright, alright, I'm goin'! Geeze…" Shaking it off, he yelled, "Bye Pops, bye Joey! See you later!"

They shouted back muffled goodbyes from the kitchen, their mouths full of ham, salad, and some sort of bean soup. Wally had eaten dinner early, while the rest just started on their food, hence Mrs. Beetle's ladle. Shouldering on an extra jacket for the chilly night, he headed outside and left for Kuki's house.

He didn't know what the night had stored for him, but whatever it was, Wally figured the best way to get through it was to face it head on, just like he did with any situation (except schoolwork). The only difference was, he had faced plenty of situations where he had a good idea of what the future held. The fact that this was completely different unnerved him.

Taking note of his stomach, he couldn't help but think: _Stupid cruddy butterflies…_

* * *

What had happened to the world? Reality didn't seem to exist anymore.

She rubbed her eyes roughly, just to make sure it wasn't an illusion. When she opened her violet orbs once more. No, no, it was true. This was her.

This was Kuki.

"Mushi, is that really me?"

Her sister, who had been standing beside her so she could watch her marvel at her own image, smiled a bit. "A part of you, yeah. A part of you I hadn't seen in years. See what you can do when you actually _try _to look nice? You're not so bad looking once you do."

Mushi's sudden dramatic change in attitude towards Kuki was as amazing and thrilling as a dream come true. No, it _was _a dream come true, one Kuki thought would never be realized. But then again…It wasn't her first wish that had been fulfilled…That one had come in the form of a tough, somewhat loud-mouthed, soft-hearted Australian.

She wondered how she got so lucky; weren't there a ton of starving people all around the world? Animals without loving owners, orphans, endangered species, victims of crimes…Why'd she deserve all the good things she now had? What had she done to get her wishes? Why did she get to eat every night, clothes to keep her warm, a bed to sleep in, a good education, a promising future…

Why was she the one who got to wear a beautiful satin dress, and spend a lovely evening with the boy (man?) she loved? It didn't seem right, didn't seem fair…Yet…

A strange voice said something in her head, and lasted for nearly a few seconds…It sounded….British?

_Don't question your own good fortune. Love it as those who long for it would._

Why she had that thought in someone else's voice she didn't know, despite the feeling that she knew that voice, from somewhere and some time she couldn't remember. Why couldn't she remember anything?!?!?

"Yo, sis! Calling to Kuki, do you read me?"

Startled, she jumped out of her funk. "Huh? What?"

"C'mon, back to reality, Kuki!" Mushi said, snapping her fingers. "Now's not the time for La-La-Land. In fact, try to stay in reality the whole night, okay? You're gonna have a hard time with Wally and everyone else at the dance if they can't talk to you because you're all spaced out. You do that way too much. Do you want to look like an idiot?"

"N-No, of course not!" Kuki protested, shaking her head. "I was just thinking about…stuff. So many changes in my life, so little time…You know?"

Her sister just stared at her, hands on her hips, sizing her up. "No, I don't."

"Oh. Ha…" She smiled sheepishly. _I've got to stop saying such stupid things! _

"Anyways, you look good, so now open up and show me your teeth," Mushi instructed. Obligingly, Kuki obeyed. Scanning over them, Mushi gave her a thumbs-up. "Alright, they look nice and white and pearly. It's a good thing you've at least always had _that _done well. You put some mints in your little purse?"

"Yes."

"What about makeup for re-application?"

"Uh…"

"Because you should _always _bring makeup for re-application. That blush and lipstick won't stay on long."

"Right…I, uh, forgot to put that in there." She blushed in embarrassment at her absent-mindedness.

"Then get some, right now. Did you put in some tissues too, just in case you mess it up?"

"Um…"

"You didn't?!?!?" Mushi slapped her hand against her forehead. "What would you do without me? Oi, you're such a moron sometimes…I'm gonna get a headache…"

"Sorry, Mushi!"

She waved it off, glancing out the window. "Don't be. You don't have the time."

"What do you mean?"

"Wally's here, he's walking up the sidewalk."

"What? This early? What time…? Oh my gosh, I lost track…Ah!"

Mushi just shook her head, sighing.

* * *

It was funny, how different it felt to arrive on Kuki's doorstep that night. He had walked up those steps and had pressed the doorbell button so many times, it was practically a ritual for him now. But this time, he felt nervous, excited, and a little edgy, feelings not usually associated with arriving at someone's door. He didn't think anything terrible or unfortunate would happen, but…

* * *

"You got the mud ready?"

"Oh yeah," said someone, obviously male, his voice malicious, mischievous. "This'll be the best prank yet…" His silhouette meshed with the darkness, a heavy bucket in the grip in his hands. "We'll get our revenge, baby, we'll get it!" A wicked smile overtook both of their faces, their flawless teeth the only thing visible…

* * *

…Maybe it was just Wally's nerves. _That has to be it, _he thought, calming down at his own conclusion. _I'm just excited. Yeah…We're gonna be fine…_He glanced at the corsage tucked into his coat pocket and smiled.

_We'll be more than fine._

Confident, he rang the doorbell straightforwardly, broadening out his chest and shoulders, a triumphant smile on his face. He was ready for this, nothing was going to weaken him now!

Until she opened the door.

His jaw could've hit the floor. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Standing before him was some a beautiful young woman, a small delicate smile across her face. She was dressed in a soft pink silken dress, the top tied around her milk white neck. Her bare shoulders were visible, and the neckline was just above her bust, at the same measure all around. The hem was a dark raspberry lace, dazzling in a complicated, swirling pattern. Her dark raven hair was tied firmly into a bun, cascades of tightly curled tresses framing her face. Lipstick matching the dress was brushed over her lips, and black mascara dazzled her dark, almost violet, eyes. Matching earrings and bracelet completed her, shining in the moonlight.

"K-Kuki? Is that _you?_" He could barely get the words out.

A puzzled look turned her smile into a frown, but only for a moment, because after she let out a giggle. "Of course it's me," she said, face turning red. "Who else would I be? Hi, Wally."

"H-H-Hey…" he stuttered, unable to tear his eyes away from her. "Uh…You ready to go?"

"I just have to get a few things. Will you wait for me for a few minutes? I'm sorry I'm taking so long, I-"

"N-No, it's fine, really!" he said. "I got here early, I'm sorry, my mum, she practically kicked me outside-"

"No, it's my fault, I should've been ready-"

"No, Kuki, I should've waited-"

"Don't know what I'm doing-"

"Didn't take enough time to-"

Mushi, who had been watching the whole scene, loudly groaned to herself, wanting to pull her hair out. _These two are impossible! Do I have to do __**everything **__around here?!?!? _

Emerging herself into the scene, she said rather sarcastically, "As much as I just love watching you two have a lover's moment here, you're just making yourselves take up even more time. Kuki, your jacket?"

"Oh, right!" Kuki said, snapping out of it and turning towards the steps. "I'll only be a second, be right back!" She ascended up the stairs hurriedly, hoping not to keep her date waiting much longer. Once she was out of sight, Mushi turned to Wally, a triumphant grin on her face. "I did good, didn't I?"

"What? What're you talking about?" Wally said, finally able to look at her. "Did good at what?"

"Kuki, duh!" she exclaimed. "I saw you staring at her, you dog! Who _else _do you think could make her look that awesome? I picked out that dress, the jewelry, the makeup…It was all me, man!"

"You?" His eyes widened. "You did that? Seriously? Why?"

She wanted to hit something. "Why? Because she doesn't know anything about dressing up, you dolt! Someone had to-"

"No, that's not what I meant! I meant _why _did you do that for her? I thought you hated her, 'cause you were ignorant and mean. No offense."

Sighing again, she tried to keep herself from getting angry. "Yeah, I know," she admitted, crossing her arms and nodding in agreement, thought it pained her to say it. "I can't say I've improved that much either. But…I dunno, I see you look at my sister the way you do, like you did just now, and…I guess she's not so bad, y'know?"

Wally blushed and blinked, not quite understanding what she was saying. "Uh…Okay. Um, good to see you guys getting along, then…"

"Yeah, yeah…" Mushi said, waving off the puke-worthy sentimental sappy moment. "So, lets cut to the chase…Are you a good kisser?"

Wally's eyes practically popped out of his head and landed on the floor. "I'm sorry…WHAT?"

Mushi moaned again. "Is it really such a complicated question? 'Cause really, it's just a simple yes or no…Although details are not frowned upon. So just answer it! You a good kisser or what?"

"I-I-I…Well, why do you care?"

"'Cause Kuki won't answer me, so I thought I'd go straight to the source. Consider me a news reporter, digging up dirt. And I wanna make sure Kuki knows what's a good kiss and what isn't. So, how do you kiss her? Do you slowly make your way to her face, or do you take the plunge and just do it?"

"I-!"

"Pucker your lips," Mushi instructed. "You can tell so much about kissing from a guy's pucker."

Now this 'little' girl was just freaking the poor boy out. "Um, Kuki?" Wally yelled, looking up the stairs. "A-Are you ready?" _PLEASE tell me you're ready!_

"Here I am!" she announced, finally appearing atop the steps with a white jacket framing her dress. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting!" She smiled at him, then at her sister. "Wally, isn't Mushi just so much fun?" she said, clearly excited from their new relationship, before going down the stairs.

"Oh yeah, we were just having a _great _conversation, eh Wally?" she asked, smirking and glancing up at him. Mushi gave herself a pat on the back from the lack of reaction to her statement, as his eyes were glued to Kuki again.

_You did good, Mushi. You did good._

"Huh? What'chu say?" Wally said, using all his strength to turn his face away from Kuki.

"Nothing. Now you two go off now, y' hear? I'll tell Mom and Dad where you went!"

"Okay, thanks Mushi!" Kuki said, as Mushi pushed the both of them out of the house. "Bye!"

"Bye! And don't forget Wally, pucker those lips!"

"WHAT?"

_Slam!_

_Alone at last._

Yes, the Sanbans (Well, Mushi, that is) and the Beetles were quite interesting families, indeed.

* * *

The night was still fairly young, the half-moon and stars shining above like gems on black velvet. While Wally had clearly stated that he was more than get a car or taxi, Kuki insisted that it'd be more worthwhile to walk.

"It's only a few blocks away," she said, her pink glass earrings shining in the darkness. "And it's so beautiful outside! And we always walk to places together, so…it's like tradition, right?"

"But what about your dress? Won't it get dirty? And besides, ain't I supposed to spoil ya or something? Since it's our anniversary?"

Kuki just grinned, and took the initiative to take his hand. "Wally, you've been spoiling me ever since you moved back here. And my dress will be fine. But we can take a taxi if you don't want to-"

"No, no, that's fine," he said. "I mean, if you want to, we will…" He blushed. "I just thought this was supposed to be…I dunno, special…"

Whenever his face reddened, so did hers, especially when she knew what she was going to say next. Barely a whisper, she said, "I'm with you, aren't I? That's special enough for me…"

His face now the shade of a Red Delicious apple, he smiled. "Yeah, same here," he said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "And, Kooks, I forgot to tell ya…" He figured he'd tell her, since they were having such a close moment already. "You look…Well…" His throat tightened. He thought that if his throat were ever to do that, it'd be from one of his enemies strangling him, not from a _girl. _"Y'know, with the dress 'n all…" _Why is this so hard to say…_ "You look…absolutely beautiful, Kuki. I…just…Wow."

"B-Beautiful?" He had called her that when he had first told her how he felt about her, but he had been talking so fast then she didn't really count it. And the night when he told her she was the most beautiful thing in existence…Well, that _did _count, but…It didn't matter, she was still surprised whenever she heard it!

Wally grinned. "Cruddy girl," he chided her, lightly punching her on the shoulders so it barely felt like anything. "When will you ever learn?"

"Learn what?" she asked, wondering what she did wrong. "What'd I say?"

Chuckling, he clasped his fingers around the hand she was holding his with, and started walking. "Nothin'. Nothin' at all."

Wally secretly found it extremely cute whenever she was surprised from a compliment. Even if she _still _didn't agree with him on her looks, though, it didn't matter. In his mind, he was taking the most gorgeous girl to the dance.

Todd may be the prince of the ball, and Brooke the Cinderella (an evil one, though, not the nice one), but Wally…He was the Beast, and Kuki was Belle, transforming him into a king. And he'd take Belle over Cinderella any day.

Then Wally remembered something, something important, when his eyes landed on his jacket pocket.

"Oh! Hey, I forgot to give you something, Kooks!" he said, taking the box out of his breast pocket. "I got you…" He opened the box, revealing the angelic white flower before her eyes. "A carnation! Ain't it, well, pretty, I guess…?" Wally never did have a huge thing for flowers. They were just plants, after all, he didn't see the big deal about them. But he knew his girlfriend did, so he thought it would be a proper gift for her.

She gasped. "Oh, Wally, it _is! _You got this for me?"

Jokingly, he pretended to look around the street. "Don't see any other girls here, so yeah! You…You like it?"

"I love it!" she said, circling her arms around him in an enthusiastic embrace. "That was so sweet of you…Wow, _me, _getting a carnation from a boy…I can't believe it!" She wanted to kiss him, but thought better of it. She wanted him to make the first move that night…

Wally, obviously pleased with her enthusiasm, handed it to her. "Why don't you put it on?" he asked. "Normally I would, but uh…" _I don't think I should be touching your chest. _That was the only place to put it.

Kuki, understanding why, reddened again, grateful he wasn't staring at her chest like a dog, and fastened it on gently. "Thank you, Wally," she said, her voice sweet and just full to the brim with happiness. Wally felt his heart lift. He had never seen her so happy.

"I'm glad you're not nervous, Kuki," he said, holding her shoulders. "I was kind of afraid you would be, since the dance is at school at all."

Kuki's smile disappeared, and bent her head down shamefully. "Actually, I'm going to get really nervous, Wally, when we get there. When am I not? I'm always afraid something will go wrong, when it comes to school. I'm happy now, we're alone…But Brooke will be there, and Todd…I'm afraid I'm going to mess everything up."

Straightening up to look more confident, he locked his eyes with hers. "Nothing is going to happen tonight, Kuki. I won't let it. You're safe with me, and like I've said, I won't let anybody hurt you, no way." A convinced, somewhat devilish (and extremely handsome) smile took over his face. "We're going to have the best night ever. If we didn't I wouldn't have done this in the first place. Nothing is going to ruin this, Kuki. Nothing."

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

By that time both of them had their arms around each other, face to face. They didn't even notice how close they had gotten. Wally started to lean in, and Kuki grew excited, anticipating their first kiss of the night, when Wally caught his eye on a watch that had been tucked under his jacket sleeve.

"Oh crud!" he said, taking note of the time. "Kooks, we're gonna be late if we don't get goin' right now! C'mon, lets get a move on!"

Before she could even process what he had just said, he grabbed her arm and made his way towards the school.

"Are we in really that big of a hurry?" she asked, startled by his sudden quickness.

"Yeah…I'm taking you to this dance, and believe me, we're gonna get their on time!"

She giggled. "You never seem this concerned when we're late to school!"

He smirked, as Kuki finally got in-step with him, going as fast as he was. "That's 'cause _this _is actually important! Who cares about school?"

Kuki laughed out loud, perhaps the giddiest laugh she had ever had. It was so infectious, Wally found himself laughing too. They were laughing so hard (the joke wasn't even _funny_) that everyone in the street stared at them like two crazy people.

They could've cared less.

* * *

Okay, maybe Cinderella wasn't really the right comparison for Brooke on the night of the dance. She looked more like the a sexy Queen of Hearts. Everything about her just shouted _power _and _seduction._ There was not _one _boy at the dance who did not take at LEAST five minutes to gawk at her like she were some sexy Siren, ready to transform them all into swine. Todd, looking as hot and prim as ever, walked alongside her, more like a security guard then boyfriend. He was seething on the inside, wishing all the other guys would lay off his girl, but showed none of it. Brooke didn't like it when he did, said it ruined her self-esteem. She needed the boys to look at her, so she could feel good about herself.

…Complete poppycock. While yes, the attention did give her an extreme confidence boost, it wasn't her real motive. The truth was, while Brooke was sure she had the hottest, greatest guy in all the school, she always kept looking for a better suitor. Todd was hot, but he wasn't really all that rich, nor was he the most intelligent guy she could snag. There were always other options…

One day, she would find that better suitor. And, in honor of her given characterization, she would shout to her never-ending supply of obedient followers, "Off with his head!", pointing at a heart-broken Todd, plunging him down, _down, _into the dark pits of rejection.

But, for now, he was still on solid ground, following his beloved, the girl he had worked so hard to get, to their group of friends at the end of the overly-decorated-and-slightly-gaudy gym, where the event was being held.

"Hey, _mi amigos," _Brooke greeted them, flaunting herself. "Jared, I see you got yourself a date!" she said in excitement. His spiky hair was practically dripping from styling gel, dressed in a quite becoming dark blue suit. Beside him was a beautiful slim olive-skinned girl, with long wavy dark chocolate hair and deep brown eyes. She was obviously Italian, the same origin of Mr. Melloni, though there are no relations between them. This girl, Selene, was one of the Brooke Elite Admirers, which meant that she was _almost _there to being in Brooke's social circle…But not yet. Especially when Brooke looked her over, Selene's face a beacon of hope, and said, "Mmm, not bad…Flat as a board, but okay."

Brooke, 1. Selene, -30. You wouldn't believe the impact Brooke had on other girls' egos.

Jared, still thinking she was hot anyway, just shrugged. "Whatever."

Deciding she had paid them enough attention, she turned to her best friend, a frown forming on her face. "Delilah, what's wrong? You look upset."

She did, indeed. She was practically chomping on her nails, and her eyes just screamed _DISTRESSED, _her other hand clenched in an upset fist. "Delilah, hello? Are you okay?"

"He didn't show up…" the southern redhead murmered, her eyes still glued to the floor as if it held the answer to all her problems. "He's really not here…He's never, ever done that, ever."

"Who? Who didn't show up? Your date?" Brooke asked. "Well…You know, that green dress isn't the best choice you've ever made, my friend…" she said, scanning over her silky mint green filmy translucent dress, with a long form-fitting white slip underneath. "It kinda looks like something Mother Nature would wear, or something…"

"No, no, no, I don't have a date…" she corrected her, for the first time EVER not caring about what she was saying at the moment. "I mean _Connor._ He really meant it…He's not here…"

Everyone blinked in surprise, and a look of extreme disgust took over Brooke's face. "That bastard? You kidding me? That guy is such a loser, bailing out on us like that! He's a traitor, a nark, a weasel! You're actually worried about him?!?"

"H-He's not a loser!" she said, trying to defend him without hurting Brooke's feelings. "He's just…Confused, I think. Confused and upset! He doesn't really want to hurt us like that! He's probably just been through a whole lot of pressure!"

Brooke just shook her head in disappointment. "Listen, Delilah--I understand how you're feeling right now. Finally, _finally, _somebody is in love with you! Feels good, right? But Connor is a popular-guy-gone-loser now, and-"

"Wait!" Delilah said, cutting her off. "Did you just say…Connor is in love with me?"

The question was so utterly preposterous that Brooke cackled. Yes, _cackled; _Not laugh, giggle, chortle, or any of those soft-sounding words. Not even sniggered. _Cackled. _

"Are you that air-headed, Delilah? Haven't you noticed the way that guy looks at you? Wow, you're thicker than I thought! I mean, you're still the second-most popular girl here, but wow! Ha!"

For the second time in her life, Delilah once again ignored her. Instead she was taking down a trip through memory lane…

_Delilah befriending him by complimenting him on a dog he'd colored in green crayon from a book, during kindergarten…_

_Connor clutching onto Delilah's arm, screaming from the death defying rollercoaster they were riding…_

_Connor, skating beside her at the park on Sunday, showing off his new red helmet, thought to be the same model as some famous kid skater…_

_Delilah, receiving a box filled to the brim with stickers, a birthday present from Connor._

_Connor, receiving a brand-spanking new skateboard with flame decals, which Delilah had stood in a huge line to get at the mall._

_Delilah, meeting Brooke, Connor in the background…_

_Delilah, eating with Brooke, Connor eating a burrito in another table…_

_Delilah, chatting with Brooke, while Connor stayed silent…_

_Connor, giving Delilah a hug as she was crying, moaning how she'd never get Brooke's approval._

_Connor, giving Delilah a yellow rose for friendship, lying by saying they ran out of red ones…_

That's when it clicked.

"I have to go," Delilah said, grabbing the jacket that Jared had been carrying for her to look like a gentleman in front of Selene.

"Go? Where? The dance is starting!" Jared exclaimed. "You seriously ditching us?"

"Yeah, Delilah!" Brooke said, alarmed. "Don't you wanna see me get the crown for being voted Queen?" she asked, ignoring the fact that Delilah had entered for the crowning as well, wanting it as badly as she.

"I'm coming back," she said, shouldering on her black leather bomber jacket. "I've just got to…Get my clutch. I left it at home, and it has all my makeup."

"Oh, oh my gosh, go then! Go!" she responded, practically pushing her through the door. "Gawd knows you'll need that makeup! Just hurry back to see the crowning!"

She didn't need the pushing. She practically flied out the door, as fast as she could go in an expensive dress. Dust, dirt, and whatever else laid on city sidewalks gathered at the hem of the dress, but she didn't care.

She ran eagerly past her house…

Wait, _**her **_house?

Continued down the block…_Almost there…_

She stopped suddenly, losing her breath for a moment from the sudden lack of speed, and turned towards a house…Her heart was beating hard now…Her cheeks were red from the cold, from nervousness, from her running…Rang the doorbell…She could hear footsteps approaching the door.

"Hello?" Connor answered, a bag of half-full Doritos clutched in his hand. His face went from curiosity to complete and total shock.

"Dee?!?!?" he said, unable to fully take in who was standing on his doorstep. "What're you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the----Mmff!"

His words were interrupted, Delilah tackling him, the bag of chips falling to the white shag-carpeted floor. And before he knew it, a pair of glossed lips fastened onto his.

She knew she should've done this a long time ago.

* * *

"Holy _crud, _would ya look at this place?!?!? Holy crud! It's almost as bad as Rainbow Dorky Land!"

"Rainbow _Monkey_ Land…" Kuki corrected him under her breath, still defending her beloved stuffed companions after all these years (only without the anger). But, despite that, she could see where he was coming from. The gym went from being a dim-lit cinder-block room of despair to a glowing, colorful, banner-filled fantasy world. Balloons crowded every corner, bopping into one another and floating in between the girders of the ceiling, others tied to chairs, in every fall color imaginable. Dozens of different lighting fixtures, like disco balls and light beams, shed light on everyone below them, like makeshift Suns in the night-time. A random DJ, complete with his humongous stereos and collection of music, stood at the right end of the gym, a line of people lined up at his table for music requests. On the left side, the entire wall was lined with tables overflowing with punch and snacks. Outside the gym, a hallway was kept open so the photo equipment could be set up. A very Fall-like background had been set up, where groups of friends or happy couples were taking pictures to serve as memories for the rest of their lives. Banners hung from the ceiling, slathered with colorful paint conveying messages such as, HELLO GALLAGHER HIGH! And GO KNIGHTS! (A/N I just made that up…)

Kuki could only stare. "Wow…So _this _is what a high school dance is like…"

"Yeah, no kiddin'!" Wally exclaimed, still gawking at the extreme transformation of the gym. Buying tickets at the entrance, they stepped into what was formerly known as the school gym, looking into their surroundings.

As far as Kuki could tell, everyone at the dance had apparently formed into two groups; there were those at the left, eating and socializing and laughing, some getting pictures, as if they were trying to avoid getting onto the dance floor at all costs. The other side, as it may have been guessed, was composed of all those that had decided to 'shake it'. A loud, somewhat obnoxious yet pleasantly invigorating rock song was blaring out of the DJ's stereos, and all on the dance floor students jumped, shimmied, twirled, twisted, shook, bopped, and swayed with the music, some utterly failing at it while others looked like they had known how to do it all their lives. Yet, whether they were horrible or incredible at the dancing, everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Yet the poor girl couldn't shake the feeling of nervousness at the pit of her stomach. There they were, Brooke and the Populars, standing at the left, drinking punch and looking oh-so-cool-and-gorgeous in their expensive dance wear. Two of Brooke's cronies, Kuki noticed, seemed to be missing, but it didn't matter, as they looked just as threatening as they usually did, dwindling numbers or not…

Especially when Brooke, who seemed to sense Kuki observing her, locked eyes with her. They were at a far distance apart, but even Kuki could see the fire in her eyes, matching the blood-red color of her devilish dress. A smirk somehow gracefully came upon her lips, her eyes squinting. For a moment, Kuki swore she saw horns protruding out of her blonde tresses, until she blinked and realized it was only a figure of her imagination. Then, she looked away…

* * *

"They're here," Brooke whispered to her gang, gesturing her head towards Wally and Kuki. "They're right at the entrance. See em'?"

Todd, following her gaze, smirked and couldn't help but smash his fist into the palm of his hand. "Well, would ya look at that, it's just like a fairytale!" he speculated, his voice coldly pleasant. "The sad little village whelp was finally able to come to the ball with the prince of Idiotsville. And she actually wore a dress! Though, I think something's missing from her outfit…" he said sarcastically. "Something…important."

"Yeah…Maybe she could use…a little brown?" Jared suggested, his eyes suddenly gazing upon the ceiling. There, on top of one of the gym's ceiling beam, perched a metal bucket, a thick translucent string hanging from it, hidden from view with a balloon they had tied it together with, making it look like a decoration.

They all sneered, laughing silently to themselves, Selene faking it with them (she had no idea what was going on). "I can't wait to see the look on their faces when we cover them head to toe with mud!" Brooke whispered excitedly, an evil glint in her eyes. "All we have to do is get them to dance and get under that bucket…"

They had placed the trap over a part of the gym that was, after many studies over past dances, usually empty and apart from everyone else, as it was sort of in-between the dance floor and the snack/photo/socializing part of the gym. Usually people didn't go there, as they wanted to be either on one side or the other. The only time during the dance that space was totally occupied was when the crowning of the chosen Fall Queen took place, where a small platform would be set up on the side opposite of where the bucket was. After the Queen was chosen, a romantic song would be played, and the Queen would dance with her chosen King. Then the middle would be packed, as everyone partnered up with someone to dance with (any single dance-goers would dance with each other, whether it be two best girlfriends dancing jokingly together, or just two loners of the opposite sex agreeing to dance together.) As the bucket trap was towards the back, where the least people would be, there was a good chance Wally and Kuki would end up dancing there.

_And they _will _dance, _Brooke thought with a grin. _If they don't, we'll make them!_

Jared was the one assigned to stay towards the back with Selene (who was thrilled to be a part of the action) and pull the string once Kuki and Wally were close enough. Once done, everything would play out from there. They would be covered in dirty, smelly, disgusting mud (mixed and concocted by the amazing Todd Crawford) and then…Well, whatever would happen after that, the gang knew it wasn't going to be good. Well, for them it would, but not for the victims.

(A/N I hope that explanation wasn't too confusing! Basically, once the Queen is crowned, Brooke is planning for W and K to dance towards the back since it would be less crowded, and Jared would send the bucket and its contents down upon them. The whole thing would take place in the middle of the gym.)

They hope that the oncoming humiliation and shame would result in the two breaking up, but even if it didn't, they would receive mocking and joking from others for weeks. So either way, the Populars won.

It was the Perfect Plan.

"Too bad we have to wait so long for the crowning!" Brooke complained, eager for the event. The dance went from eight to eleven, the crowning taking place at ten o' clock. Two hours…That was like, an eternity or something!

"Don't worry, baby!" Todd said, patting Brooke on the back. "Until then, we can just kick back, dance, maybe relax a little," he hinted, snaking his arm around his girlfriend's small frame. Brooke grinned teasingly at him.

"Maybe if you're lucky, cowboy. Now, does anyone know when the hell Delilah's getting back?" she asked. "She's been gone forever!"

* * *

Ever since Wally and Kuki met for the first time and became friends, they had hung out numerous times, doing things that became memories that would last a lifetime. Working at Melloni's, getting their pictures at the booth, watching movies, etc…All of it usually happened alone, with just the two of them together for company.

There, at the dance, that was obviously not the case. It was pretty crowded, and it was practically impossible to get your way through somewhere without bumping or touching someone else. Everyone's voices reverberated of the walls, high and excited, yelling and shouting. The music just made it that much noisier. It was absolutely crazy.

It was the perfect situation for awkwardness between the two.

They just stood on the left side of the gym, next to each other, watching everyone else having fun as if they were on a television screen rather than right in the gym with them. Wally, silently handing Kuki a cup of red punch, took a sip from his cup, and gulped it down rather noisily from nerves. "Some dance, eh?" he said, still watching everyone, desperate to try and start a conversation. Usually, the two dealt well with long silences between them, and even though technically the room was filled to the brim with noise, their own silence made them feel as if they should contribute to the noise. And besides, dances were social events. What could you do at a party _silently? _Read a book?

"Y-Yeah," Kuki responded, her nerves worse than his. "V-Very, um, lively, I guess, you know? 'C-Cause, there's like, so many people here, people I don't know, but they're all having a good time, and here we are, drinking punch, the punch is so g-good, what is this, b-berry?" she rambled, switching from subject to subject, and finding herself unable to stop. "I think it m-might be s-s-strawberry, or cherry. N-Not raspberry though, because wouldn't it be blue, if it were raspberry? W-Why's it called a r-raspberry, anyway? I-Isn't that a w-w-weird name? Raspberry. _Raspberry…_" She drawled. A huge sweat drop trickled down her forehead, and Wally was afraid she'd explode with nerves. In order to calm down, he smiled, and pretended that what she was talking about wasn't totally random.

"Yeah, you got a point there. _Raspberry. _That _is _weird. You know what else is a weird word? Orange. Nothin' rhymes with it. The color's kinda different too. Not a lot like red, but not like yellow either, y'know? That's why I like that color…It's different from everybody else. It stands on its own, doesn't _need _to be like anyone else."

Kuki, smiling that he was going along with it, pondered on what he said. "What about the word hinge? Like door hinge? That rhymes, doesn't it? _Door hinge, orange. _Doesn't that rhyme?"

Wally, being the wonderfully simple guy that he was, found this mind-blowing. "Holy crud, you're right, it does! It rhymes! You know how long I've been trying to find a word that rhymes with it? That's like, genius! Holy crud!"

His girlfriend, stunned by how much her observation wowed him, started laughing. "Wally, the look on your face is so funny!" she speculated, looking at his bugged-out eyes from her discovery. "This is just the most random conversation we've ever had! Ha ha!"

Wally started chuckling himself. "I know! It's just so awkward in here, we had to talk about something! How'd we even start talking about his anyway?"

"I don't know, I don't care!" This just caused her to burst out laughing even more. Wally joined along with her, holding on to her shoulder for support, and this just caused everyone to stare at her.

"What da…?" A dark-skinned girl said, looking at the pair. "Man, what in the world are those two laughin' about?" she asked the skinny goggled boy next to her. "Abby thinks they're crazy."

"Hey, I just moved here too, you know," the boy said, adjusting his goggles. "I have no idea. Everybody's staring at em', too. Looks like they're having fun, though," he said, smiling. "Seem kinda familiar too…"

"You get that feeling too, Hoagie?" Abby asked, looking back at him. "So am I. Maybe we should talk to em', maybe on Monday, introduce ourselves, y'know? We are the new kids, after all. Wouldn't hurt us if we were to make some new friends."

"Yeah, that'd be cool," Hoagie said. "But you know what? This party…Blech." He leaned down to Abby's level and gave her a flirty smile. "What don't you and me ditch this place, get something to eat? Maybe the Romantic Burger? Hmm?"

Abby, who wore her red hat despite it mismatching with her dark blue dress, hit him in the head with said hat. "Sure, but if you try that flirtin' thing you gonna be sittin' by yourself, Abby'll tell you that!"

"Agreed, ow," he said, rubbing his head. "Let's go!"

(A/N That part was completely random, but I couldn't help it! *insert smiley here*)

Back to Wally and Kuki…

After that completely random conversation the two had together, things just hit off right then and there. The awkwardness had completely vanished. They managed to calm down from all their insane laughter (ignoring all the glaring and sneering they were receiving), and each got another cup of punch.

"So, what now, Kooks?" Wally asked, pouring more of the delicious berry goodness into the cup in Kuki's hand. "Want something to eat? We could get a picture too, or just hang out, or dance…"

"D-D-Dance?" Kuki said, gulping. "I don't know how to dance!"

"I know you don't," Wally replied. "You told me, remember? But _I _do, and _I'm _pretty much the best dancer the world's ever seen," he boasted, always sure to inflate his ego whenever he could (in, of course, a good-naturedly way). "Just let me show you a couple of moves and you'll be a pro like me!"

"I-I thought you didn't like d-dancing!"

"When did I say that?" Wally said, cocking his head. "I mean, I like to have a good time, and sometimes in order to do that, ya gotta do a little dancing, don't ya? I mean, I told you I didn't like dances too, but here we are! Might as well do some of it while we're here!"

"B-But…!"

"C'mon!" Before Kuki could do any more protesting, Wally had her by the arm and was taking her towards the floor. Blasting on the stereo was _Shake It, _by Metro Station. Wally couldn't help but smirk to himself. It was a great song for, well, as the words of the song imply, shaking it!

By the time Wally found a somewhat secluded spot on the floor, he let Kuki go. "Alright Kooks, ready?" Wally half-spoke half-shouted. "Dancing is just really easy at these kinda things! Just let yourself move with the beat! This song is really fast, so you gotta move fast!"

"But I-"

"No buts, missy!" Wally said, already swaying a little bit, even doing a few spins. "This whole idea was made to help you get out a little more, wasn't it? Get outta that shell of yours, live your life! C'mon, you're being a cruddy girl!" he teased. "You chicken or something?"

"Wally, that's not very nice!" Kuki said, though she was laughing. Wally started moving around, dancing very badly, in order to make her feel better. "You're supposed to be helping me, not making me worse!"

"Who said I wasn't helping ya?" he asked, suddenly grapping her arm.

"Aah!" she yelped, finding herself spinning around in a fast, tight circle, thanks to Wally. She was spinning so much, she was afraid she was going to stumble and crash. Luckily though, Wally grabbed her wrist again, making her stop.

"Oh, I'm so dizzy…" she said, the world seeming to spiral around her. "Why'd you do that?"

"Helping ya, like I said! C'mon Kooks, lets shake it!"

"What does that even _mean?_" Kuki asked. "Shake _what?"_

Wally just laughed, and spun her again.

"Just relax, Kooks! Loosen up, man!"

Loosen up? Well, she _was _a little stiff. She took a deep breath, allowing her muscles to go more lax and not so tight.

_Ah, much better…_

"Good!" Wally said, watching her relax. "Now you just gotta stop thinking, and start dancing! Thinking's hard, but moving is a lot easier!"

As if showing her he was right, he got on the floor and did a little break dance on the floor. The people around him stopped to watch.

"Wow, look at him go!"

"Isn't that Wallabee Beetles?"

"That guy's got some sick moves…"

He spun, kicked, jumped, did some sort of move on the floor with his hands…He was amazing, and a huge grin was on his face. He looked like he was having a blast…

Kuki wanted to have a blast too…

_**Now, if she does it like this**_

_**Will you do it like that?Now, if she touches like thisWill you touch her right back?Now, if she moves like thisWill you move it like that?Come on,Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake itShake, shake, shake, shake, shake it**_

_**Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake it**_

_This beat…_

Her foot started to tap.

_It's really…_

Her hips started to sway…

_Something!_

She remembered again how she used to love to go to dances, and how the first place she would always go to was the dance floor. She had great moves then.

_Can I do it again?_

To answer her question, she tried doing a small whirl around the floor, twirling herself as fast as she could go. Stopped. Did a few steps with her feet. Gyrated her hips. Swung her arms. Kick. Turn. Go backward. Forward, right, backward, left. Forward…

It was all coming back to her. It was like meeting someone she hadn't met in years, someone she missed without even knowing it. It was a forgotten love that she had just re-discovered, one that she promised herself to never forge ever again.

Wally, who had just gotten up from his break-dancing, couldn't help but be genuinely surprised as he saw Kuki truly giving it her all.

_Wow…She can really dance…_

It was…well…very _attractive. _*wink wink*

"Hey Kooks!" he shouted, making her stop mid-move. He took her by the arm again.

"Let's go."

She beamed, so did he.

_**Tonight you're falling in love(Let me go now)This feeling's tearing me up(Here we go now)**_

The chorus started again, and so did they.

They tore up the floor. They circled around one another, grabbed each other and sent themselves backward, spinning at the same time. Wally stopped, while Kuki whirled back into his arms, dipped her, then twirled her around. They switched sides, fingers interlocked, did some cool-looking footwork, and went off spinning separately again.

More people gathered around them to watch the pair. While some tried not to look impressed, many couldn't help but murmur to the other how well they were doing together. It looked as if the two of them had practiced before, and wasn't just some spur-of-the-moment thing.

The dancing duo didn't really care if anyone was watching though. They were too busy having fun. Kuki couldn't remember the last time she felt so free and lighthearted. It was as if she weren't dancing, but gliding, flying…It was so fun it almost didn't seem real.

The last few _shake, shake, shake it_'s rang out, and the two stopped and let each other go, giving them a moment to breathe. Kuki leaned against Wally, laughing in glee. "I didn't even know I could do that," she said, so very pleased. "Thanks for bringing me out here, Wally."

"We ain't done yet, missy!"

And on they danced.

* * *

_Having fun, are they? _Brooke thought, staring hard at the couple that she despised so much. Not for the first time that night, she eyed the bucket right above their heads, for they were located in that place just as she had predicted.

_I could just go over there and pull the string right now, if I wished, _she thought, envisioning the moment where the sticky dirt poured down their stupid little heads. _Then they could run off, break up, and I can get my crown._

Oh, she had never wanted to do that more than anything in her entire life! Her pulse quickened by the mere thought of it. She couldn't wait to laugh in their faces and have them out of her life for good, allowing her to keep the school the way she wanted it to, with her on top. It was so perfect…

But the longer she waited the sweeter the moment it would be. It would scar them that much more to be humiliated as they watched her, Brooke Sanders, get crowned second year in a row, the reigning champ. No, she would have to wait.

_Enjoy the party while it lasts, guys…_

* * *

Well, the evening certainly had taken a dramatic yet definitely amazing turn for Connor. It wasn't everyday you answered the door with your long-time crush on the other side, eager to kiss you.

_Smack!_

When she finally released him, the boy was in such a daze he didn't couldn't even speak. A wavy, dream-like grin came across his face, his eyes seeming to be somewhere else than reality.

Blinking, Delilah waved her hand in front of him. "Connor? Hello? Are you okay? Connieeee…" she repeated, using her nickname for him. "Are you with me, sweetie?"

Snapping out of hit, his eyes widened. "Hmm? Huh? What?"

"Connor, hey. Um, I hope I didn't, uh…" A faint blush came across her face and nose, realizing that she had basically just invited herself in and jumped him. "…Interrupt anything, did I?"

"Interrupt? Interrupt what?" he asked her jokingly. "All I was doing was swallowing myself in self-pity by watching TV and gorging on chips. The 'rents aren't here, I'm all alone. But what about _you?_" He eyed her outfit, trying to ignore the urge to kiss her again. "I imagine you didn't put that on just to pay your old bud a visit, huh? Aren't you supposed to be at the dance?"

"Yes," she answered, smiling at his reaction to her dress (it was obvious he liked it). "But I wasn't having any fun."

"Why not? You and Brooke went all-out on it this year. I saw the decorations. You guys always have fun. Did the stereo go out again?" he asked, remembering an accident that had occurred last year. Thank goodness they found someone to repair it, panic had been everywhere…

"No…" she said, shaking her head. "Try again."

He paused to think for a moment. "The photographer didn't show up?"

"One more guess." She smirked. He had always been terrible at the guessing game.

His third guess was always something preposterous. "I got it! Someone put alcohol in the punch and now everybody's drunk and fighting each other karate style-"

"No, no, no!" she laughed, shoving him playfully in his absurdity. "Gosh, Connor, you suck at guessing! I wasn't having fun because…Well…You weren't there," she answered honestly, giving him an earnest look.

"And then, I figured out, well, you're _always _there. Whether I'm happy, upset, angry--You've always been there. And then you weren't, and that threw me off, y'know? Like I _needed _to have you there or something wasn't right. And then Brooke said--"

"Oh, what'd she say now?!?!?" he asked angrily, a malicious spark in his eye. "I'm telling you, Dee, that girl's _bad. _She treats you like garbage! She doesn't like anyone or anything that doesn't think she's the greatest thing on earth. You have to agree with everything she says and does for her approval."

"Why didn't you ever say anything like that?" she asked, cocking her head adorably. He ignored it, he was on a roll now.

"I did, but you just ignored me! The more you got to know her the more you decided that she was what everyone should be like, including you. You completely stripped yourself of your personality and molded yourself into whatever she wanted you to be, and even when you did, it _still _wasn't good enough. Let me ask you something, Dee…"

He took a step closer to her, arms crossed.

"Did I ever tell you that you weren't good enough? Did I ever tell you to change your clothes because they made you look ugly? Did I ever scoff at everything you loved, and try to make you into something you're not? Did I ever…" Another step. "hang out with you just to make me look good, and make me feel better about myself, and make you feel like crap?" He laid his hands on her shoulders. "Did I?"

"No," she said, voice low. "Of course not."

"What about Brooke? Did she do that?" He gave her a hard stare, and got nothing but silence. Her face seemed to break, realizing what he had been trying to tell her after all those years of idolizing Brooke. It was heartbreaking. Connor's harsh face softened.

"That's what I thought. C'mere."

He brought her face to his gently, cupping her face with his hand, and kissed her again. Delilah immediately relaxed, responding instantaneously. Connor had always known she felt the same way about him, he just _knew it_. He was just waiting for her to finally realize it, and realize that he was her real friend, not just some poser.

When they finally broke apart, Connor broke into a smile again. "Nice to have you back, Dee."

She smiled too. "It's good to be back, Connie."

"Ah, d'you have to use that nickname?"

"Yes! I _love _that nickname!"

They continued to talk, and Connor led her to a table in the next room, both taking a seat. They sat there and talked for what seemed like hours. They reminisced over the times that passed before all the popularity drama had come into their lives. They talked of each others' lives in the present, asking each other questions that they hadn't bothered to ask each other in years. They talked of the future, of what they wanted to do and what their plans were. It was a while before Connor decided to bring the conversation back to its original subject.

"So…What _did _Brooke say?" he asked, referring back to the original question. "What did she say to make you come running back to my house?"

Rather boldly, she stated. "She said you love me. That you always have."

He blushed. "Did she? Huh…Guess she has a brain after all…" he joked sheepishly, trying to hide his embarrassment with humor. Delilah caught on to this.

"Don't worry," she said, hugging him. "I love you too…I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it…"

He encircled her in his arms and buried his face in her hair. "It's okay. I was willing to wait."

"Will you go to the dance with me then?"

He whipped his head back up. "Eh? What?"

"Come to the dance," she said, gripping his shirt excitedly, eyes twinkling. "I know it's kind of random and a little late, but who cares? Before I got popular, we didn't follow the rules!" She was practically jumping up and down now.

"But my clothes-"

"Don't care!"

"My hair-"

"It's fine!"

"What about-"

"Don't worry about it!" she said, grabbing his wrist and opening the hallway closet. She took out his jacket and threw it over his head. "Put this on and lets go! We don't want to be late for the crowning!"

"Wait, wait!" he said, scrambling to get the jacket off his head and actually _on _him. "I gotta get something, one second!" He ran to his living room and grabbed a bag off the table, and headed back towards her. "Y'know, I was gonna go to the school later to see the crowning, so you would've seen me anyway."

"Yeah, but this is better!" she said, opening the door, his hand in hers. "Now, we're going as a couple. It can't get better than that!"

Connor couldn't argue with that. "Are Kuki and Wally there?"

"Yeah!" she said, hurrying him across the sidewalk. "I saw them come in before I left. You know, Connor, you were right about them…" she said. "Last night, I was thinking about what you said…We should've never treated Kuki the way we did. She did nothing to deserve it, I barely even know the girl. I just…I was trying so hard to fit in…I forgot what it meant to be a good person. Instead, I became more of a monster…"

"We both did," he answered, nodding in agreement. "I stuck with you and the others just to watch over you, and I had to fit in with Brooke and the others to do that. So, I made fun of Kuki even though I knew we were treating her like crap. We really damaged her, Delilah. And I don't think there's any way we can make it up to her, and Wally. We really screwed her up."

"Yeah…" Her eyes drooped in shame. _What did I let myself become? _She put on a replay of the last few years of her life, hanging with Brooke and her gang. Pictures of all the broken faces, the tears, the sadness they had brought upon everyone they ever victimized. Kuki's face showed up most of the time…

_There's no way I can hang out with Brooke anymore, _she thought. _Connor's right, she was never my friend. She just used me…Oh, I was so stupid! How could I let myself change like that…And Kuki…The poor girl…_

Memories of she and the others plotting their revenge on Kuki and Wally flashed through her mind. A bucket on the beams of the ceiling.

"Ohmygosh!" she screamed, remembering. "Ohmygosh!"

"What? What?!?" Connor asked, surprised and freaked out at the outburst. "What is it?" He twisted his head round the block, trying to find what the problem could be.

"Kuki! Wally! The bucket! We gotta save em'!"

"What?"

"No time to explain!" she said, dragging him across the sidewalk even faster, as fast as she could. "We gotta save Wally and Kuki _now!"_

* * *

They danced and danced and danced before they just had to stop and take a break. Breathing heavily they hung on to each other for support, to keep from falling onto the ground.

"Man…That…was…so…_cool_!" Wally said, grinning. "Who knew the two of us could do that!"

"I can't remember the last time I felt so pumped!" Kuki added, agreeing excitedly. "This is the best night ever!"

"I told you we'd have a good time," he said, giving her a look that bragged, _I told you so. _Kuki rubbed the back of her head in defeat.

"Yeah, you were right, Wally. I shouldn't have doubted you…" She nuzzled his neck, blushing. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without…"

She was interrupted by a sudden scurrying of people, rushing to find a place in front of them. Somebody knocked the two of them aside, making them stumble. Wally grimaced, and shouted angrily, "Hey, watch where you're goin', idiots!" He waved his fist at some guy. Kuki grabbed his arm. "Wally, it's ok…"

The guy Wally was threatening turned around. "Dude, shh!" he said, putting his finger to his lips. "Have you guys been paying attention at all! The crowning is about to start! Don't you see the platform? They just set it up!" He pointed to the front middle of the gym, and they followed his gaze.

"Huh," Wally wondered, "When did that get there?"

"They must've set it up while we were dancing," Kuki explained. "Every year at this dance they choose a King and Queen. Anyone who wants to vote before the dance picks one of the candidates they want to win, and of course, whoever gets the most win."

"Who's up for the running?" Wally asked, very bored and uncaring, but curious. "Besides Brooke and Todd, of course."

"Um…Delilah, Brooke's best friend…And a few other girls Brooke somewhat likes… As for guys, usually the sports stars. Todd will win though…He's Brooke's boyfriend, after all."

"They're not even seniors, though!" he said. "I thought it was seniors who usually won that kind of stuff."

"On Prom they do, but not this one," Kuki explained. "Anyone's eligible to win in the Fall."

"You too?" He asked.

Kuki almost laughed. "Well, uh, you have to be nominated…"

He put his arm around her supportively. "It doesn't matter, Kooks. I don't like Queens." He gave a cold hard stare at Brooke, who was waiting excitedly at the side of the platform. "They usually grow up to be nasty old witches."

Once again, because of what Wally said, Kuki's heart lifted giddily again. He always knew how to make her feel special. Who needed a stupid crown when you already felt like loyalty?

Well, Brooke would've heartily disagreed, as she was practically jumping up and down the floor in anticipation, hungrily eying the crown that was being held by one of the school announcers.

_It's almost time! _she practically screamed in her head. _Almost time for my shining moment, and my revenge! _Once again, the bucket became the apple of her eye. Jared, with his lovely date beside him, stood near the objects of her revenge. He gave her an evil thumbs up, which she excitedly returned. _C'mon c'mon c'mon…_

Finally, the gym became pitch dark in a sudden millisecond, followed immediately by two humongous spotlights beaming onto the platform, the school news reporter standing behind a microphone. He ushered for the candidates to come forward. Todd and his sports pals (and even a few enemies) joined, while Brooke and a few girls joined as well. Brooke, whipping her head around, still noticed that Delilah was still missing. She shrugged.

_Must've went home, _she assumed, unsurprisingly nonchalant about it. _She must've wanted to avoid humiliation at losing the crown to me again. Poor girl…It's not her fault she has to compete against me. _She flicked back her golden tresses. _Maybe next year I'll refuse the crown and give her a chance._

She almost snorted. How preposterous! _Yeah, like I'd ever do that!_

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the student news reporter announced, in his most exciting, gripping voice. He was a teen of Chinese descent, with a cheery invigorating voice with the gift of capturing anyone's attention. "Thanks to all of you for attending tonight's Fall Dance! The proceeds will go to the many departments of Gallagher High, in need of a little boost to make the future of the school even more exciting and worthwhile than it has ever been. The attendance record to this year nearly doubled last year's! Give yourselves a hand! Alright!" He started clapping, and everyone followed suit, some even letting out a few whoops and hollers.

Wally's face was almost comical, as there was absolutely no trace of excitement on his face. All he kept thinking about was how fast it would take to get the stupid thing over with. He wanted to dance with Kuki some more…

Who, by the way, was clapping politely, feigning excitement out of pure kindness. That was Kuki, always with a golden heart. She wouldn't have let anyone know just how much she wanted it to be over as well.

"Alright, now, let's get down to business!" the announcer said, gesturing for everyone to be quiet. A wave of shushes and silence followed. He cleared his throat.

"Now, for those of you who may not know, every year Gallagher High chooses one lucky lady," he winked at Brooke, "and lad to gain the title of Fall King and Queen. Each one standing before you was nominated last month to run for the esteemed position. It was up to YOU, the body of Gallagher High, to decide who would be the one, the only, to gain the privilege of having a crown placed upon their brows, and to join together with their fellow victor, to lead the dance that follows! It's an extreme honor, one that looks excellent on college applications, the community, and anyone who wishes to become something extraordinary! You were chosen to lead their fates, it was you-"

"GET ON WITH IT ALREADY!" Wally shouted rather rudely, having enough of all the nonsense. Everyone, especially on the platform, turned and gave him a dirty look.

"What? This whole thing is stupid," he explained, ignoring the looks (and wanting to laugh at the steam pouring out of Brooke's ears). "Hurry it up, already."

Kuki blushed at the attention, but admired Wally's boldness all the same.

"Ahem," the oriental announcer said. "Anyways, before I was so RUDELY interrupted…" He and all the candidates regained their composure. "Thousands voted, but alas, we can only have one Kind and Queen. It was a tight race, but the numbers have been counted! And here, in my hand…" He raised it, revealing a snow-white envelope, sealed with a red sticker. "Is the result. Are you ready to hear it?"

A crashing wave of whooping and screaming followed.

"I said ARE YOU READY TO HEAR IT?!?!?"

The response was even louder.

"OPEN THE CRUDDY THING ALREADY!" Wally shouted, though it just blended in with all the other voices. Kuki covered her ears. Who knew it would get so _noisy? _

"Alright, I'm satisfied," he said, and tore open the envelope with flourished elegance. "This year's Fall King and Queen is…Todd Crawford and Brooke Sanders! Congratulations, you two! Come on down, and get your crown!"

Trying to look humble yet dignified, the two stepped forward, and leaned their heads down. He placed the crowns upon their heads, while the rest of the candidates stood behind, hugging each other and shaking each other's hand in comfort. The whole thing was over in just a matter of one minute.

"Thank goodness that's done!" Wally said, relieved and turning to Kuki."That was the stupidest thing I'd ever seen! When's the music gonna be turned back on?"

"Oh! Well…" Kuki blushed again, and looked away, twiddling her thumbs. "Soon, Wally. The King and Queen dance first, and we all join in."

"Oh, okay!" he said, smiling. "Think you're ready for another go, then? Or would you rather do something else? I'm up for anything."

"Well…The thing is…" She grew more and more timid. "Th-This is the first d-dance I've been to, b-but…E-Every year, I hear what happens…W-Wally…" She looked back up at him. "A-After the crowning, its always a slow dance."

Wally's heart stopped in the time it takes to snap fingers. "Wha…?" he said, smiling weakly. "Did you say…_slow _dance? As in, romantic and soft…and all that crud?"

She just nodded, shutting her eyes. "Uh-huh. That's it."

"As in, swaying back and forth, all lovey dovey and crud?"

Another weak nod.

The reason Kuki was so miserable with this is that she knew the kind of guy Wally was. Yeah, he was romantic with her, but they had always been alone. In public the farthest he went with her was a kiss on the cheek. They held hands all the time, and gave each other looks, sure, but…Dancing?

Slow dancing was girly, cruddy, and public. She knew Wally would not, _would not, _want to slow dance. He was all for fast, fun dancing, not the slow, sappy kind. He wouldn't want to slow dance.

Even though she so desperately wanted to. That was something they had yet to do together, and Kuki _was _a girly, romantic kind of girl. She had thought about it before, and there was nothing she wanted more than to cuddle up to him and sway with him in the now romantically-lit room, sharing something sweet with him. They would slowly circle around together, holding each other, and look up and lock eyes, and then-

"Kooks? Kuki, you okay?"

Oh, whoops! She had slipped into dreamland for a second, imagining what it would be like to dance with him. "I'm sorry, so sorry!" she said, shaking her head in embarrassment. "Um, what were you saying?"

"Well…" They both looked back towards the crowd. They had separated to two groups, giving Todd and Brooke, each brandishing a beautiful crown on their heads, an entrance. Stopping dead center of the dance floor, they stood in a spotlight, and wrapped arms around each other, smiling.

The hired DJ, a slim, cool guy with gelled hair and sunglasses (despite the dimness of the light), picked up a microphone. "King, Queen, you ready to dance?"

"Ready as ever!" Brooke said in a fake sugar-coated voice, giggling.

"Alright…Then it's time to take things a little _slow," _he said, dragging out _slow. _"So everybody partner up and let's feel the love…

Wally rolled his eyes. _What a cornball! _

The lights dimmed even more than anyone thought possible, and small dots of light sparkled and danced across the room from the disco ball. It was as romantic as a gym could possibly get, which was pretty fantastic, by the way.

Wally felt his forehead go clammy. He knew what Kuki wanted. Oh, he knew, he knew. She wanted to slow dance, he could see it in her face. She was trying to hide it by pretending to be interested in the banners hanging from the ceiling. It would've worked, if he didn't know her so well. But he could see it on her face, how badly she wanted to slow dance with him. He couldn't help but feel nervous, yet flattered. He knew how she felt about him, but it was always nice, seeing it by her desire to sway across the room with him.

How could he say no?

_She never forces me to do anything, _he thought, trying to think of a time that would prove him wrong. He failed.

All he wanted was to make her happy. It was another one of those weird effects she had on him, that strong wanting to see her smile and having fun. And if he wanted to do whatever she did that made her happy, then, really he wanted to dance with her, right?

_Right. No matter how much it kills me._

In conclusion, he offered his hand to her. "Kuki, do you want to dance?"

Her mouth dropped in astonishment. "Huh? What? Really? You…You want to slow dance with me? But…" She figured out what he was doing, and suddenly stepped back. "Oh, Wally, no, it's okay. You don't have to-"

"I know," he said, gazing at her. "It's okay." He put his arms around the small of her waist, and pulled her to him. "Besides, it might be the only time I agree to do this with you. You might as well take the chance while you got it."

She gave a small laugh. "Okay. But you never have to do it again, I promise."

"Ha, that's one she shouldn't make," he warned. "Not if we ever get marr-" He stopped himself before he finished.

"If we ever what?" Kuki asked. "What were you going to say?"

"Nothin'!" he said, trying to save himself. "Nothing, nothing at all!"

Soft music began to play, a man's lulling, sweet, swooning voice gently singing. Without further conversation, Kuki put her arms around Wally's neck, deciding to drop the subject. Wally sighed, thankful for the interruption.

"Happy anniversary, Kuki." His arms were still wrapped around her waist.

"Happy anniversary, Wally."

They started at a safe distance, somewhat awkwardly. They just stared, swaying back and forth, tense and timid.

_**We were drawn from the weeds**_

_**We were brave like soldiers**_

_**Falling down under the pale moonlight**_

The two of them were silently surprised. They had both heard this song before. It wasn't new, but it wasn't that old…They had heard it on the radio a few years back…

They couldn't believe how perfect the song was for the two. It was as if it were played, just for them. Only for them.

_**You were holding me**_

_**Like a someone broken**_

_**And I couldn't tell you but I'm telling you now**_

Memories of their past together suddenly flooded into their minds, the gates of the past suddenly flinging open.

Like their first encounter.

------------

_Afraid that he knew who she was and would pick on her too, she walked right past him._

"_Hey, you there! Wait a minute!" He grabbed her shoulder. Kuki grew tense. _Don't hurt me don't hurt me oh please oh please don't hurt me….

"_I need to find room 236! I'm new here, and I have no idea where the crud I am! Can ya help me out here?" he asked desperately._

"_Oh….Y-you're new here?" she turned looking at him._

"_Yeah, can ya help me?"_

_Kuki took a good look at him. His muscles could be seen through his hoodie. Now most girls would've gawked over them, but not Kuki. To her, the muscles were just a hazard to her health. He can probably fight pretty well….She gulped. Her body stood straight, her shoulders back, eyes looking straight forward. She looked like a scared statue._

_--------------_

Kuki laughed silently to herself. How wrong her first impression of him had been so wrong!

_**Just let me hold you while you're falling apart**_

_**Just let me hold you so we both fall down**_

The next memory was when Wally followed Kuki to the hangout…Or stalked, whatever.

--------------

"_So, um, I guess you're wonderin' how I got here, huh?" he asked. Kuki still remained frozen, her face blank. He took that as a yes and continued. "Well, this might sound kinda weird to you, but I followed you here, and…."_

"_WHAT?" Kuki shouted, bringing the bat back up again. "L-L-Leave me alone, please, or I'll….I'll hit you! I will!" she said with fake determination._

_He put his hands up and waved them. "No no no, you got the wrong idea, girly! I promise I wasn't stalking you or anything! I just saw you outside at the end of school and you looked all secretive! You kept lookin' around making sure no one saw where you were going and I got curious, that's all! I wanted to see where you would go. Honest!"_

_He wasn't afraid of the baseball bat. Back in Australia he had been in a couple of fights, and knew how to avoid certain weapons. He just wanted to assure her that, no, he was not a crazy stalker. _

_He walked towards her and she took a step back, still frightened. He sighed. "Okay, it was creepy that I followed you here, but trust me, I'm telling the truth. I don't even like girls all that much. I mean, I've never even had a girlfriend before, so why would I want to stalk you? Huh?"_

_She continued to stare at him, and he stared back. This continued on for a few minutes until Kuki finally decided to put the bat back in its proper place and sat on her beanbag. "Um…." she said, blushing. "I believe you now…."_

_------------_

What a crazy day that had been…

They now held each other closer, tightly and lovingly. Kuki laid her head against his shoulder, sighing happily.

_**Fall on me**_

_**Tell me everything you want me to be**_

_**Forever with you**_

_**Forever in me**_

_**Ever the same**_

They had always fit together perfectly, despite their contradicting personalities.

----------

_They played every game there was to offer. Racing games, fighting games, adventure games, space games, motorcycle games, everything. Kuki proved to be better at the fighting games while Wally usually beat her at racing. They even played a dancing game, but they both sucked at it._

"_Man, THAT'S what I call a good time!" Wally said to her, after they finished playing their last game. "You're a worthy opponent, that's for sure!" _

_She blushed at the compliment. "Thank you! You too! I had a ton of fun!" She smiled a huge smile, one that Wally didn't see very often. _

_It made him feel good, seeing her smile like that. _It's like the room lights up a little bit when she smiles, _he thought, than shook it away. _What kinda cruddy thought is that?!?!?

_His eyes then landed on something, and his eyes and his smile widened. "Hey, Kuki! We should do this!" He went over to it, and pointed at it. "We should take some pictures!" he said._

"_Pictures?" She looked at the machine. "I never noticed this before…."_

"_Have you ever done it? My mates in Australia and I have done it plenty of times. Come on!" He pulled her into the machine, behind the curtain. "Sit down." _

_They sat next to each other. It was a little uncomfortable, being so close together, but they shook it off._

"_Okay, now what you do is ya put some money in…" He put some coins through the slot. "Now you just pick a background, and it takes pictures! What background should we get?"_

_She looked at them all….There were so many! "How about the ones with the stars?" she asked, looking at the one that looked like the night sky._

"_Alright, that's a good one…." He chose it. "Okay, now smile in 5.…4.…3.….2.…1!" He put his arm around her neck, making her blush a little, and they both smiled. _

"_Okay, now two more! Make a funny face!" he said._

"_A funny face?"_

"_Yeah, stick your tongue out or something." He stretched his mouth and stuck out his tongue. "Like this!"_

_She followed suit, giggling, and then they had to make one more picture._

"_What do we do now?" she asked him, wondering what to do next._

"_Whatever you want!" he said. "It's a wildcard picture!" He put is head in her arms and gave her a noogie. "Smile Kuki!" _

_She laughed, and the picture took. She was really happy._

"_Alright, we get out now," he said once the picture ended, "And it'll print out on it's own." They got out and waited for the pictures._

"_There they are!" Kuki exclaimed, pointing. "Let's look!" _

_The pictures were great. Kuki made a mental note to put it in a special place when she got back home._

* * *

All awkwardness and tenseness went away, and they danced together, relaxed and so, so happy. Wally was enjoying more than he ever thought he would. He put his hand through her hair, and touched her neck, sending chills down spine.

_**We would stand in the wind**_

_**We were free like water**_

_**Flowing down **_

_**Under the warmth of the sun**_

_**Now it's cold and we're scared**_

_**And we've both been shaken**_

_**Look at us**_

_**Man, this doesn't need to be the end**_

They felt that they should've always known that they would end up falling for each other.

----------

"_I love you," he said, feeling a kind of confidence he never felt before. "I know you don't feel the same way, Kuki, but I do. I can't help it. I think you're perfect," he said, looking straight at her. "You're every good thing a person can be, and I've fallen for you. There are days where I can't stop thinking about you." _

_He scooted closer to her. "I don't want to ruin our friendship just because of my feelings, but I have to tell you how you make me feel, Kuki. I'd do anything for you. Absolutely anything. You make my heart beat a mile a minute. I enjoy every minute when I'm with you. I'm happiest when I'm around you. I'd never make you cry, Kuki. Never. I hate to see you cry. I'd never call you names. I'd never hurt you. I love you too much to ever do that. You're awesome and wonderful and kind and smart and beautiful and everything in between. I can't stop thinking about you Kuki, and all I want to do is hold you in my arms forever and never let you go. I want to protect you and be with you. I…….I……" He wasn't sure what to say next. "I just…….I love you, Kuki."_

_She felt like she was going to faint. _

Is this real, or is this a dream? _she thought, a million thoughts racing through her head. _Did he really just say that he…..that he loves me? Me? The girl who no one likes?

_She looked into his beautiful green orbs, and they told her everything. He wasn't lying. He meant everything._

He…..loves me…….

"_Kuki?" he said, a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay? Do….Do you want me to leave?"_

"_No!" she said quickly, never wanting him to leave. "I don't want you to ever leave me….." she said, her voice low. _

"_I don't plan on ever leaving you," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I could never do that."_

"_Wally…."_

"_Yes, Kuki?"_

_She started to blush madly. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. It was unreal._

"……_I love you too."_

_His heart leaped. She…….She loves me? he thought, blinking. She loves me? Really?_

"_I love you, Wally," she said again, as if she could read his mind, which she couldn't._

"_Kuki……"_

"_Wally….."_

_They scooted closer towards each other, and their faces grew closer. Their hearts were racing, their minds were racing…..They both had never felt happier._

_And then their eyes closed, and their lips touched. Their first kiss. It was a simple, heartfelt kiss. Just their lips touched, and it lasted for minutes. Their stomachs were filled with excited butterflies._

_When they parted, their faces barely grew apart from each other. They stared into each other's eyes intently. They heard nothing else, saw nothing else. They were in their own little world._

_Then Wally's arms wrapped around her, and she draped hers over his neck. Their faces grew closer once again, and closed their eyes until they felt each others soft lips on theirs. The kiss grew deeper, and they held each other more tightly. Wally brought one of his hands to her cheek, and then touched the back of her neck. They didn't want to let each other go. Not now, not ever._

_----------_

_**Just let me hold you while you're falling apart**_

_**Just let me hold you so we both fall down**_

_**Fall on me**_

_**Tell me everything you want me to be**_

_**Forever with you**_

_**Forever in me**_

_**Ever the same**_

_**Call on me**_

_**And I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me**_

_**Forever it's you**_

_**Forever in me**_

_**Forever the same**_

"Kuki."

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

He wanted to kiss her, just like he had done so many times before.

-----------

_Electricity shot through their veins as their lips touched, just as it did on their first kiss. Wally put his arms around the small of her back, while she wrapped hers around his neck. He pushed her closer to him, deepening the kiss. _

_It lasted a while, and they parted. _

_But only for a moment._

_Because Wally wanted more._

_And so did Kuki._

_So they kissed again, making it even deeper than the last one. And then kissed again._

_And again. And again. And again._

_Pretty soon, neither one of them could find themselves to stop. They just kept pressing their lips together, over and over again, the next kiss more deep and meaningful than the last. _

_All thoughts had escaped from their heads. All they focused on was the electricity in their bodies, their soft lips on each other. Wally's arms started moving upward, stroking and just feeling her hair, then back downward towards her back. Then they would go back up again. _

_Kuki's hands just kept her hands in his hair, pressing his head against hers. Soon, they would both realize that brushing their hair before the date was just a waste of time. _

_The only sounds that were heard was the calming sound of the crickets, using their legs like violins to make their music. The occasional croak of a frog was heard on occasion as well. It was no orchestra, but it did just fine for them._

_They stopped kissing fifteen minutes later, literally gasping for breath. They had to wait for a while to regain a regular breathing pattern. _

"_Kuki…" he said, gasping for air. "I'm…I'm sorry if I….If I got a little too rough there…." His face was blazing red. "I didn't think I'd….gasp…..go crazy like that…."_

_Her face matched his exactly, and was breathing just as hard as he was. "Wally…Don't worry….That was…..absolutely perfect……" _

_----------_

_**You may need me there**_

_**To carry all your weight**_

_**But you're no burden I assure**_

_**You tide me over**_

_**With a warmth I'll not forget**_

_**But I can only give you love**_

"Oh, Wally…" She wanted to cry, she was so overjoyed. "I love you too. So, so much…

_**Fall on me**_

_**Tell me everything you want me to be**_

_**Forever with you**_

_**Forever in me**_

_**Ever the same**_

_**Call on me**_

_**And I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me**_

_**Forever it's you**_

_**Forever in me**_

_**Forever the same**_

He tilted her chin, locking eyes with her. She wrapped her hand around the wrist that held her face.

Closer…

No one noticed the signal Brooke, the Queen, gave to a couple dancing beside them.

Almost touching now…

A hand grasped around what seemed to be nothing.

A tug.

_Whoosh._

The two paused, swearing they heard something. They looked up…

"What the…?!?" Wally yelled.

The next thing they knew, something cold and wet covered them both.

And everything spiraled down from there.

* * *

**There you have it. Part one of the last chapter. Not done yet…Will I ever finish this?**

**Of course I will! Just be patient! I'll work on the next chapter as soon as I can. I'm busy with school and a musical right now, but I'll start as soon as I can! Give me a week, and then I'll start. Please review, this is the longest chapter, and the next one will probably be as long, and will hopefully end the story!**


	23. Hearts Slowly Tearing

**Disclaimer: You know, sometimes I think if Mr. Warburton was allowed to read fan fiction, and he read this, he would come to my house and bonk me on the head. I totally messed with Numbuh Three. I probably ruined his vision. Gosh, I miss KND eps so much…I wish there were still new eps…**

**Ever find it funny that Warburton never answers questions on romance? Someone's a little nervous! Hee hee…Wonder what he's up to? I've always wanted to ask him how he felt about each kid in Sector V…Why he liked them and stuff…On his blog he said he cried when he wrote the ending scene in INTERVIEWS…And that he was proud of his 'five kids.' He loved em' all.**

**Which is why he would bonk me on the head if he read this. Not only did I completely change Kuki too, but I made Wally so, so, **_**so **_**sappy in some parts, stuff he'd never say and/or do. Like in chapter seventeen. I made him say she was the most beautiful thing in existence! **_**What? **_**Would he EVER say that? *thumps head* **

**But I'm still proud of this fan fiction. I apologize, Mr. Warburton. Forgive me. But I worked so hard on this. How could I not be proud?**

* * *

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 23: Hearts Slowly Tearing

They barely saw it coming, it was over in a matter of seconds. No, milliseconds. Half a millisecond…

They didn't have time to count.

Slimy, cold, wet gunk…It covered the two of them like chocolate-coated marshmallows.

_What is this crud?!?!? _Already a scowl was forming on his face.

_What…Why…What happened?!? _Her heart sunk. This wasn't good…

Her eyes were squeezed tight, so none of the disgusting stuff would get on them…The couple had released each other the second upon impact, so her hands were free to wipe away the muck on her face.

Laughter erupted like Mt. Vesuvius on Pompeii, pouring onto Kuki and Wally like hot lava, embarrassment leaving their skin red hot, yet covered in goosebumps from the cold substance.

Kuki barely took the time to look at everyone's faces. To her they were all just shadows of monsters ganging upon her, their eyes and teeth glistening, eyes flashing red maliciously. She felt she couldn't move…Couldn't breath…Her heart pounded. She looked down and gasped at the blanket of brown covering her dress.

Mushi had picked out that dress just for Kuki. She had said it would make her beautiful…That it was meant for her…

Ruined. It was ruined forever.

_Wally…_

Her eyes darted towards him. He looked _far _from happy. Red hot flames skipped and popped in the emerald irises of his eyes. His knuckles were clenched so tight it was cutting off his circulation, turning his skin into an unnatural shade of white.

"Who did this…?" Wally whispered, growls erupting in his throat. When no one answered, he straightened up. "Well?!?!? Who did this? Who the CRUD did this?!?" He roared. His face was now beet red from the anger bubbling up inside him, ready for him to explode.

"Aww, I'm _so _sorry. Did we ruin your little love-fest?"

Both Kuki's and Wally's heads whipped around, though seeing the owner of the voice wasn't necessary. It was obvious who the voice belonged to.

The Devil!

Well, actually, it was Brooke.

"Of COURSE it was you!" Wally yelled, pointing a finger at her. "I should've known! I should've known that twisted evil brain of yours would think of something as stupid and cruddy as this! Why?!? What'd we EVER do to you? Nothing!" He started advancing upon her in interrogation. He wasn't going to hurt her, but scare her? Oh yeah.

"You don't scare me, Beetles! You or that stupid ugly girlfriend of yours!"

"You shut up about her!" Wally barked. "Just shut up! I'm sick of it! I'm sick of you, sick of this school, this town, sick of it! Kuki had nothing to do with this! Nothing's her fault!"

"Everything's her fault! It's all your fault Kuki!" she said, shouldering away Wally and rising upon the girl. "You just couldn't help yourself, could you?"

"W-Wha…?" Kuki squeaked. "H-Huh?"

Her eyes locked with Kuki's. "You know what you did. You let yourself become friends with him. Wally. Even though you knew what would happen to him if he became friends with you. Remember, I warned you about that. That if you got close to him, you'd just bring him right down with you. You ruined his life. You!"

"Don't listen to him, Kooks!" Wally said, desperate to break the hold Brooke had on her. "She's-!" Before he could continue, Todd, Jared, and a few other football guys grabbed the Aussie, gripping his jacket with a furious grip and covering his mouth with their hands. As hard as Wally struggled, he couldn't break apart from them. There had to be more then five guys holding him, with extras surrounding them in case he got away. This didn't feign him; he still struggled against their hold. "Mmph!" he choked. "Mmmph!' Kufkth!" This translated to: "Leggo! Leggo! Kooks!"

But no avail.

"Wally…!" she said, her gaze drifting upon him. "L-Let h-him go!" she yelled, trying with all her might to sound threatening. "He-He didn't do anything! Please!"

"Too late, chicka," Brooke said, laughing to herself in triumph. "He's in our clutches now. There's nothing you can do. And it's all…your…fault!"

"I don't understand!" Kuki screamed in her face. "How? What did I do? We wanted to be friends! There's nothing wrong with that!"

"There is!" Brooke objected, grabbing Kuki's dress and bringing her closer to her threateningly. "You knew it would cause trouble, Sanban! You knew you would bring him right down with you! Remember what I told you? Do you?!?!?"

It didn't take long for the memory to replay in Kuki's mind…It was like yesterday. Brooke's voice rang in her head.

"_So do you really think that people will like Wally, now that he's associated with you? Nobody will want to be his friend now that he's with you. Anybody who hangs around you is automatically unpopular. People will start to think of him the same way they think of you. He'll suffer just like you do. He'll endure everything that you have to. People will treat him just like they treat you. Do you really want that to happen? Do you really want him to go through that?" _(Chapter 16)

"B-B-But…Wally said he didn't care!" Kuki protested. "He said so! He said…He was happy as long as he was with me! That I mattered to him and that's all he cared about! And he matters to me! And…And…" Brooke's face never faltered, and her confidence started to fade.

"Happy as long as he was with you?" she sneered. "Look at him, Kuki! Look!" She grabbed Kuki's shoulder, forcing her eyes upon Wally. He looked miserable, sweat on his forehead from struggling so hard against the football players.

"Does he look happy to you? Do you think he'll look back on this night in a few years and smile? Do you?"

Kuki looked like she got slapped in the face. Brooke was winning.

"Shpth ump, Burk! Kmki! Dun liffthen tew hur!" Wally struggled, his voice still muffled from his mouth being covered. Translation: "Shut up, Brooke! Kuki! Don't listen to her!"

She didn't get the message, though, hard as he tried.

"He's just going to resent this ever happened, just like I told you all those weeks ago," Brooke said. She turned back to her. "You let yourself fall in love with him, and you let him fall in love with you. I don't know how you possibly did it, but you let him fall for you. You didn't stop it. You only thought of yourself, you didn't think of him. And now, he's paying the consequences. You made him suffer."

"No…" The tears she tried so desperately to hold back were growing to be to much for her to handle, and one managed to escape. "You're wrong…No…"

"_Your fault._" She said it venomously, knowing her bite was slowly poisoning her with guilt and misery. "_All _of it. _Your. Fault."_

"Kmphki! Kmphki!" Translation: "Kuki! Kuki!"

Wally wanted to pull free, run to Kuki, tell her they were lies…He wanted her to stand up for herself, she had already begun, why was she backing down now? Did everything he had taught her been for nothing?!?

_Kuki, do something! Don't let her win! DO SOMETHING! _

His whole body began to perspire. He was trying so hard to free himself. He wanted to rip their arms off, their heads off…He wanted to get anything that got him in his way of getting to Kuki…

"Do something, Kuki!" he screamed, but it just came out in more muffles.

"Shut up, Beetles." Todd whispered in his ear. "You pay the price now. Kuki's gonna really get it later, and there's nothing you'll be able to do about it. You can't save her now. Brooke's tearing her from the inside out as we speak."

Wally growled, and starting to desperately wrestle out of their clutches. More football players grabbed onto him so he wouldn't get away. Wally cursed.

"L-Leave W-Wally alone!" Kuki said, and made a step towards them. Brooke clutched Kuki's arm painfully, stopping her and making her wince in pain.

"You can't tell us what to do!" Brooke said. "You're the one that should've left Wally alone! If you hadn't have put yourself into his life, he wouldn't be suffering like this! Why should we leave him alone when you never did?!?!?"

"But-!"

"Wally could've been happy! Popular! He could've made friends, friends not as trashy and useless as you! But you clutched onto him, you never let him go! You kept him to yourself like a selfish brat, and now look what you did to him! See what you did!"

"But I love him! I love you, Wally!" She turned to him desperately. Rivers of tears wet her face, blending with the caked mud on her face. "I never meant to do this! Not to you! I didn't mean to!"

"It doesn't matter!" Brooke declared. "You did it anyway. And that's all that matters!"

More laughter ruptured from the cloud, trembling Kuki's crumbling heart.

_Wally said he wanted this night to be perfect…_Kuki thought.

_But I turned it into a complete nightmare! It's all my fault! I…I ruined his life! I…I ruined EVERYTHING!_

"I'm so sorry, Wally!" she gasped, hiccupping in pain. "I did this! It _is _my fault! I should've never done this to you! I'm sorry!"

Wally couldn't take it anymore. He wasn't going to allow the football players to keep him from her. They were strong, but he was stronger!

"GET. OFF. ME!" he yelled, loud enough to be understood. He stomped on Todd's foot and bit another guy's hand. Once released from them, the two other boys were clutching each arm. With a powerful thrust, he brought the two together, having them thunk each other's heads into one another, and they let go and fell to the floor.

Seeing Wally free gave Kuki a chance to escape. The only thing that had kept her from fleeing earlier was seeing him suffer. Now that he didn't need her help, she could escape.

_He should've never needed me in the first place._

She turned and bolted for the door.

"Kuki!" Wally yelled after her, her running form the only thing catching his eye. "Kuki! Wait! Come back!" Chaos had broken out in the gym, and guys were now fighting one another, each angry after what Wally had done. They blamed each other for letting them get away, and were taking their anger out on one another. As much as Wally wanted to stay and give those guys a walloping they'd never forget, Kuki was his first priority. She always had been.

"Kuki! Wait!" He ran after her like wildfire, running as fast as he could to get to her. He had always known she was as fast as lightning, and it was hard to keep up with her. "Kuki! Don't go! Please!"

"No!" Kuki yelled, not letting herself turn around to look at him. She was afraid if she did she'd stay with him after all, and wreck his life even more than she thought she already had. "You don't want me Wally! I ruined everything!"

She opened the door and sped outside, forgetting her purse and her confidence. She could hardly see what was in front of her, the tears blinded her vision. Everything was blurry. It was an odd sight, seeing a muddy girl in a pretty dress running fast on the pavement, as if running from a monster. But she believed she herself was the monster, and no one could run away from themselves.

Voices of the past mocked her inside her mind, reminding her of who she was. No longer were Wally's sweet words echoing in her memories. Now only enemies haunted them.

_Loser! Outcast! Useless! Whore! Trash!_

_Wally deserves better than me! _she thought, now thinking in her own voice. _He was always out of my league! I held him back, and I ruined his life! I'm an idiot!_

She flew into the night, her sobbing mixed in with the roars of the wind.

* * *

He couldn't keep up with her. He lost sight of her not long after he ran out the door, sprinting after her. He had been right behind her, but she shrunk into a black dot, then into nothing…

He lost her. He couldn't see her. Hear her. His voice called out for her, along with his heart, beating like pounding thunder. He called for her until his throat pounded with aches and pains, and his voice grew hoarse.

"Kuki! Kuki! Kooks! Where are you? Kuki!"

Some people on the sidewalk, or in shops or houses, yelled at him to pipe it down, but he hardly heard them. It was as if cotton balls were stuck in his ears, muffling them. The only thing he wanted to hear was her voice, that melodious voice, the one he waited to hear forever.

His calls were never answered.

He ran, he didn't know how long. A few minutes? An hour? Two, three, four hours? Did the time even matter?

He ran until he was gasping for air. His heart thumped so hard it hurt, he could feel it pumping oxygen and blood without even touching it. He too was caked in mud, and sweat cascaded from him, landing harshly on the ground. He stopped for a few precious breaths, leaning himself against a brick building. No, he didn't lean, he practically _collided _into it. He didn't even have the strength to stand up. He slid onto the sidewalk.

And he cried silently to himself. _Kuki, where are you? _He had already checked everywhere. The hangout, the field by the river, her house. The house had been dark, and the door was locked. He had pressed the doorbell fifteen times anyway, but got no answer. He had shouted Kuki's name, in case she was hiding, but he knew she wasn't there. Melloni's was closed for the night, she couldn't be there. He went to the arcade, the movie theater, the playground, everywhere. He never found her.

He was worried as heck. The fact that he couldn't find her scared the shit out of him. How far could she have gone? Where did she go? Was she…Did she…?

_Is she hurt?_

The thought just made him cry harder, though it was silent. He didn't even care if anyone was around to see. Normally he would've cared. He never cried, it wasn't something tough guys like him did. He had only cried a few times in his teenage life. But now, he didn't even care.

"Kuki…Please come back…" he choked.

Suddenly he heard footsteps, and his heart jumped in excitement. _Kuki! _He sprang up like a rabbit, ready to take Kuki in his arms and wisk her away somewhere private to sort things out.

He hardened when he saw who it was.

Or, who _they _were, so to speak.

"What're you doing here?" he growled, eyes flashing in the night. "Get the hell away from me."

"Oh, having a lover's spat are you?" Brooke questioned, a triumphant smile plastered on her face. Wally wanted to rip it off, but didn't. He never hurt girls. But it annoyed him, infuriated him, to no end. Todd and the rest of their cronies surrounded them, including Jared and his date, Selena.

"What a pity; The two of you were so cute together."

"I said get the hell away from me!" he screamed. "You're insane! Evil! Crazy! I don't want to see you guys ever again! Get away from me, _now!"_

"Now now, yelling never solves anything," Brooke said, almost as if she were his mother.

Todd laughed. "Are you crying, Beetles? Are those tears in your eyes? You're seriously crying? Over _her?_"

"SHUT UP!" He grabbed the collar of Todd's tux. "Leave me alone, or I'll rip your throat out! I'm serious!"

"Wally!"

He whipped his head around, and was surprised to find Connor and that girl…Brooke's sidekick…He couldn't remember her name…running towards him. It looked like they too had been running, puffing for air.

"Don't tell me we're too late!" Delilah yelled. "Brooke, you didn't!"

"We couldn't wait for you any longer, Delilah. What took you so long? And why are you with _him?_" She gestured towards Connor.

"That doesn't matter right now! Where's Kuki? Wally…!" She turned to him, and knew that the deed had been done. The dried glop on his face was all the answer she needed.

"Woah! Wally, what- hey!" Connor was interrupted by Wally, who grabbed him and thrust his face into his space.

"You…I should've known! It was you!" Wally bellowed, steam practically whistling out of his ears. "I should've known you weren't being friendly! It all makes sense now! You're the one that said I should take her to the dance! You played me! You were just Brooke's sick little double agent! You conned me!"

"Wally, you've got it all wrong!" Connor gulped, trying to push Wally's grip away. "I've been on your side all along!"

"Don't mock me! I may be an idiot, but I know a liar when I see one! You tricked me! I actually thought maybe you were an OK guy, but you planned this all along, didn't you?"

"I didn't plan anything!"

"Let him go!" Delilah pleaded him. "Please, let him explain!"

"I don't need explaining!" Wally said, not taking his eyes off of Connor. He raised his arm, ready to punch him.

Connor squeezed his eyes shut, readying himself for impact. _I deserve this._

He waited for a minute, then hesitantly opened one eye. He looked up, looked into Wally's green irises.

All he saw was pain. Pain and heartbreak.

Wally let go, and Connor was dropped to the pavement with an "Oomph!" Delilah rushed to his side. "Connor!" she gasped, getting down to her knees and cradling his head. "Are you okay?" She blushed, realizing she was being affectionate towards him in front of everyone, but didn't really care.

Connor could help but smile a little bit, despite the situation. "Yeah, I'm fine…"

Wally stared at them, focusing on their faces. He knew what was going on between them. _So that's the girl he's been pining over…_

It was like someone had punched him right in the gut, taking his breath away. Delilah and Connor, looking like that…It reminded him of…

He looked away. _Enough of this. _

"Why didn't you punch me?"

Wally still didn't look his way. "What?" he asked. "Why do you care?"

Connor stood up, taking Delilah's hand and brushing himself off with the other. "I would've gladly taken it."

He wanted to roll his eyes. "Stop trying to act all noble and manly in front of her, for crud's sake. It's pathetic."

"I wasn't-"

"And frankly, I really don't wanna listen to your voice right now!" He gave him a deathly glare. "'Cause I'm really tired of hearing it! I don't care what you have to say, I don't care what you're thinking! You got what you wanted!" He gave a quick look at Delilah. "And I didn't punch you, 'cause a pathetic loser like you isn't worth the energy! I don't have time for you…" He clenched his fists, trembling. "Or anyone else, for that matter!"

"Oh, what about Kuki? You spent a lot of time with her," Brooke pointed out oh-so-slyly, hoping to get a reaction. He flinched, and she grinned, getting her wish.

Todd was burning with desire to join in. "Heh, yeah, you used a lot of your time on her," he said, an evil smirk taking place on his lips. "What you guys do? Suck face after watching crummy chick flicks? Who'd wanna kiss her, anyway? Kissing her is probably like kissing a-"

He was slammed into the wall. "You're sick," Wally said, speaking through hard clenched teeth. "You're all so, so sick. Did you guys have unhappy childhoods or something? Some sort of insecurity, so you take it out on others? You get pleasure by making others miserable? You ever consider a hobby? Maybe you could try sewing or knitting or something, like the pathetic little girl you are!"

He released Todd. He had enough of playing their foolish games. "I'm leaving, and you'd better not follow me…"

He took a step, before Brooke said yet something else to bother him further.

"You know, it's still not too late, Wally. You don't have to be miserable like this." Her voice sounded almost sad, maybe even regretful. "You still have a chance. Happiness isn't impossible for you, not yet."

He wanted to keep walking, wanted to leave all of them in the dust, and never see them again. But something kept him back. He stopped. He didn't know why. His feet seemed to plant themselves to the ground, refusing to move.

"What're you talking about?" he grumbled. "What do you mean?"

"You were always too good for her," Brooke said, slowly making steps toward them. Connor squinted his eyes, unsure of her motives, but he stayed where he was. He was curious to what she was getting at, exactly.

"You're handsome, Wally. Every girl has thought that since you walked in on your first day of school. You're mysterious, only letting a select few know what you're really thinking. You're tough, only relying on your own fists to protect yourself. You walk with confidence, you know what you want. You could be so, so popular, Wally. You could probably get any girl you wanted. You could rule the school, and have control over anything, anyone. Nobody would question you. Nobody would get in your way. You'd be the coolest guy around, and have anything you wanted. You could have all of that, and more."

"But Kuki…She's not good enough for you. She's not good enough for anybody. No one likes her, everyone hates her. Hell, _Kuki _hates herself. She isn't confident like you. Strike her down, and she won't get back up. She just lets anyone do whatever they want to her. She's dumb. She's useless. She's pathetic. She'll never add up to anything. She'll just always be a scared, useless girl who only rely on other people to make her feel good and happy. You, however, you don't need anyone to love. You shouldn't be tied down with her. You need a real woman. Real friends. Friends worthy of your affection. Kuki doesn't deserve you; she never will. She doesn't deserve anyone."

"You were being a nice guy, Wally. You were sweet to her. You tricked yourself into thinking she was something she wasn't, and wanted to help. I imagined you hoped to change her? Make her happy? Is that it? You probably tried to teach her how to stand up for herself, how to love herself. You probably told her you loved her all the time, gave her plenty of hugs and kisses, showered her with compliments. You were hoping it would all pay off. But you know what I think?"

Wally remained silent.

"I don't think you really love her, Wally. I think, at first, you were just lonely. You don't need anyone romantically, Wally, but you wanted friends. So you stuck yourself with her, and-"

It was the dumbest thing, the most ridiculous shit, he had ever heard.

His knuckle slammed against the brick wall, scratching it and bruising it bloody. Wally didn't even notice. Didn't even flinch.

"That's a load of crud," he whispered, his voice rumbling in anger. "Out of all the stupid things I've heard in my life…You are such a moron, Brooke…"

He turned to face her. He saw Todd, saw the angry look on her face. Her friends looked angry too. Connor and Delilah, they were just spectating. Wally thought they were just enjoying the show. He wasn't afraid of any of them. Todd and the others knew they couldn't make a move on him. They'd seen him fight. He knew they weren't manly enough to try and fight him again. Heck, he looked at Todd and saw him shaking. No, he had nothing to fear.

"You don't know how I feel. You don't know what I want. You don't know me or understand me at all! You just judge people, you think you're some sort of expert on everybody! But the truth is, you're just an idiot! An overconfident, evil, twisted, bratty idiot! Don't you go telling me who I am and what I want! Only _I _know that! And I want-!"

Pause.

"I want…"

Another pause.

"I want _her…_"

_No, you'd better not cry, Beetles! _He scolded himself. _You ain't blubbering in front of them! Not now, not ever! Stay strong, man!_

Brooke scowled to herself. _This boy, he's sunk so deep…_she thought frustratingly. _How in the world did Kuki get him to fall for her so hard? I don't get it! What does she have that's so desirable?!?!? What? How can I break this pull she has on him?_

A light bulb flashed. _Yeah…It's all I got left, but it might work…_

"Wally…How can you love her when she doesn't even love herself? Don't you think that's selfish…To make her love you before she can love herself? Seems sort of useless."

Oh, it worked. And it worked well. He had had enough. He was now the epitome of anger.

He slammed his already bruised and bloodied knuckle against the wall another time, this time with a gratifying _bang. _"I hate you…" He stared at the floor, then whipped it back up to look her straight in the eyes. "You hear me? I HATE YOU! You hypocrite! You hag! I hate you! You think you're so freakin' high and mighty?!?!? Think you know everything? YOU DON'T! You don't know ANYTHING!"

"I will NEVER, EVER, _EVER _care about you, Brooke! Not in the slightest! I don't think you're beautiful, or smart, or cool, or anything! To me you're just an ugly pathetic excuse for a human being! You're _nothing _to me! I know you're just hoping to make Kuki miserable again, and you want me to just fall for you like every other _idiot boy, _but it ain't working on me! There's only one girl for me, and that ain't ever, EVER, going to be you! I hate you! You and all your friends! Todd, Brooke, Connor….I HATE YOU ALL!"

He felt like throwing up, his stomach hurt so bad. It wasn't like an average stomach ache, though. He had never felt this kind of pain before.

_So this is heartbreak, huh? Guess all those crummy love songs are right._

He twisted around and started running.

_It really does hurt._

It just made him want to run faster and faster, like maybe (just maybe) if he ran fast enough, he could run away from it all. The pain, the misery…He knew it was a lost cause though. He knew the heartbreak was there to stay.

_I feel like I'm being ripped apart!_

* * *

She hid, hid far, far away from the world. She was hoping maybe if no one found her, then maybe she would lose herself too. Maybe she'd lose herself in the darkness, maybe she'd fall into a dark pit of despair and never come out again. She felt like being swallowed. Maybe then the nightmare would go away.

Wally had almost found her. She had heard him open the door, heard him call out her name. "Kuki!" he had shouted, his accent making her name sound like heaven. "Kuki! Are you in there? Kuki! Please…Come out!"

Oh gosh, she had wanted to come out. She had wanted to so badly. She wanted to run to him, put her arms around him, bury herself into him…

But she wouldn't, _didn't_, let herself. _He won't be happy with me. I don't deserve him. I'm not good enough…I'm just holding him back!_

She swore it was just her ears tricking her, but she had thought she heard a strangled sob from him. The door slammed shut, and she knew that once again, she was alone.

Just like she was meant to be. Alone, for all eternity, her only companion being Misery.

Wally had never known that the Hangout, the former root beer bar for kids, Lime Ricky's…had a basement.

It obviously had used to be the storage room. Old refrigerators surrounded the walls, covered in dust and cobwebs. The floor was a hard, cold concrete, worn down from usage from all those years ago. Old sticky soda stains were left there, that were never cleaned off. There was a sink, which had no doubt been used to clean dishes, and it still worked. As for the refrigerators, the storage bins…All dead and broken.

Kuki only went down there when she desperately wanted to hide. It was a scary place to be, but she was the only one who knew it existed. The door was hard to find. It couldn't be entered from the main room of the former pub. You had to go out the back door, to the side of the building. The door was in the same exact color of the outside of the building. Kuki had found it after she had dubbed it to be her secret place for only a few weeks. She had been exploring it, and came about it one day when trying to plant flowers in the back. She thought it was an exciting discovery…Though it was dark, and dank, she knew it was the perfect place to hide if she were ever in any trouble. She could be safe and sound there.

_I thought I would never need to come here again…_She thought, rubbing away dust on the refrigerator door. She was already caked in mud, dust was nothing she couldn't handle. _Wally makes me feel like nothing can get to me…I never thought I'd ever want to hide from him…_

Her heart was slowly splitting into two. If it had broken all at once, then maybe it wouldn't have been so bad. The pain was almost like a band-aid. It was always better to just rip the bandage off quickly. It was always more painful to slowly rip it away from the skin, the pain lasted so much longer that way. Such was the case with Kuki's heart; it slowly ripped, taking its precious time to break apart, not stopping, yet not quickening either.

She stayed there, who knew how long she caged herself in the dark, cold, storage room. It must've been three hours, at least. The moon, the stars…She wanted to laugh at the irony of it. Of _course _it would be a full moon that night! The perfect romantic night, right? Right when she was so heartbroken, when it felt like someone or something was killing her slowly with a knife in her chest. A full moon. Of course.

_Wally would stare at the moon with me…_she thought. She wanted to push him away from her mind, yet…She didn't want to, either. How could you not think about the best thing that ever happened to you? How?

_He would watch it with me…_Tears fell down her face. _Maybe put his arms around me…Such warm arms…Let me put my head on his shoulder…My head fit there perfectly…He'd hold me tightly…Make me feel like I was on top of the world…_

She slammed her fists against the floor, angry with herself.

_No, no, no! _she thought. _Stop it! You're being selfish! You're doing this for him, not you! Him! He deserves better than me! He'll be happier…with someone else…Not me…I…I can't…Why can't I…_

She wished she were selfish. Did wishing she were selfish make her selfish? Was she ever selfish?

Was it ever even okay to be selfish?

She waited another hour, just to make sure that he wouldn't come back. Though, she secretly hoped he would. Secretly, she wanted him to find her. Yet she didn't.

_Ugh, what do I want?!?!?_

She knew the answer deep in her slowly breaking heart. There was no question about it. She wanted him. Him. His whole self. All of him. That's all she ever truly wanted. Him, and his love. His heart.

She used to have it too…Did she have it anymore?

_No…He probably hates me now…_She thought. _After leaving him like that…But I did the right thing…Now he can find someone else…Someone better than me…He can be happy! I want him to be happy! Yes, I didn't make a mistake…_

_Right?_

She didn't know how much longer she stayed, but eventually she got up, and left. She went home.

She barely remembered walking there. It was all a blur.

She didn't even have any tears blocking her vision. It was blurry anyway…Maybe heartbreak did that to you…

* * *

He slugged his way home, his shoes dragging against the pavement, arms hanging off him, swinging to their own accord. He felt pain…everywhere. His head hurt, his head ached, his eyes itched (dried from all the tears)…His heart…That hurt most of all…It was excruciating how painful it was. It felt like someone had ripped it out, and put it back in the wrong way. It needed stitches, glue, something…

He finally got home, and he opened the door. Slowly, slowly…He didn't want to make a noise. He didn't want anyone to find him home, mud covering him head to toe. They would ask questions, beg for answers…And that was the last thing he wanted to do.

Ah, but the front door had always had a particularly loud and annoying creak! No matter how slowly someone opened it, that creak always came!

_!_

"Wally? Is that you?"

_Oh, crud._

Not only did someone hear him, but it had to be his _mother. _

"M-Mum! Hey-"

"Just give me a minute sweetie, I'm coming! I want to hear all about your night with Kuki!"

He winced. Just hearing her name was like a jab in the chest.

"N-No need for that, Mum! Really! Don't come over here! Let me change first!"

"Nonsense!" she called, her voice coming closer and closer. "You're so handsome in a tuxedo! I want to see you in it before you change!"

"No, really, don't-"

Too late. There she was, in her orange and white checkered pajamas. She had obviously been doing some late night cooking, a wooden spoon in hand. "Wally, don't be-"

Her smile rapidly changed from a pleasant beaming smile to a look of pure horror and astonishment. "WALLABEE!" she practically screamed, dropping the wooden spoon onto the cold unforgiving floor. "Your suit! Your hair! What…What happened?!?!?"

Wally's head drooped in defeat. "Mum, please…I really don't want to talk about it."

"Don't want to talk about it? When in the name of all that is good and evil did you do?!?!? Mud-wrestle? Did you even _go _to the dance? And where's Kuki? What happened?"

"What's goin' on in here?" Wally's dad asked, cup of coffee in hand, clad in a t-shirt and sweatpants. "What're you two-?" Now this time it was the coffee cup that was sent to the floor. "Son! What…? How…? What in the world do kids do at dances these days?!?!?"

Wally would've laughed if he weren't so miserable. "Mum! Dad! Please, I'm beggin' ya…" His voice cracked. His eyes squeezed tightly together. "I don't want to talk about it. I'm tired. I want to go to bed. I didn't do anything wrong, I swear. I'm just…so tired."

"But Wallabee! What on earth-?"

But Mr. Beetles got the message. He was a teenage boy too, once. For him, it was all too obvious. Kuki wasn't there…And Mr. Beetles knew his oldest son inside-out. His boy was tough…And though Wally hardly ever cried, he knew when he was going to. He knew something was wrong. And he was pretty sure it had something to do with Kuki.

"Of course, sport," Mr. Beetles told his son gently. "Go on up to bed. We'll see you in the morning. We'll talk then."

A grateful look graced Wally's face. "Thanks." He practically flew to the stairs, trying to leave the hallway as fast as possible, to avoid having to answer anything else.

Mrs. Beetles turned to her husband urgently. "Why did you do that? What's wrong with him? Why'd you let him just leave like that? Did you _see _him? He's covered in mud!"

Mr. Beetles just nodded. "I saw, love. I did." He put his arm on her shoulder. "Didn't you see his face? Something terrible happened. I don't know what, but…It's best we let him rest for now. I think…He may have had a fallout with Kuki."

She gaped in horror. "What?!? What makes you think that?"

"I was a lovestruck teen too," he explained, giving her a knowing look. "I know all the signs. His heart's broken right now. I have no idea what went on at the dance, but it's best we just let it be. He'll tell us what happened when he's ready."

"But if he's having problems with Kuki we need to fix it!" She was practically exploding with anxiety and worry. "We have to help him, we-"

He put a finger over her lips. "This is something we lame parents just can't fix," he explained calmly. "This is something he and Kuki have to work out. We can't interfere. We'll just make it worse."

Mrs. Beetles' shoulders drooped in defeat. "My poor baby boy…" she whimpered. "Oh…" Her eyes began to water.

"MY POOR DARLING BOY! WAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Mr. Beetles gave her a hug, and patted her back. Thoughts of when he first met his wife and all the trials they went through flashed through his mind.

He prayed his son would be alright in the end.

* * *

The perfect full moon mocked her the rest of the walk home. It was a beacon of love in a sky of glitter, and Kuki, for the first time in her life, did not want it there. Fog would've been better; maybe then she wouldn't feel so alone, like she wasn't the only one feeling the way she did.

_Is Wally feeling this way?_

No; she shouldn't, _couldn't_, think about him. Yet, wasn't the whole mess revolved around him? The fact that she was denying herself his presence, his touch, his love…

Oh, why, why, _why?_

Her heart and her brain were at a constant war with each other. Her heart told her to go to him, run to him, tell him she didn't mean to run away, that the despair of the moment got the best of her, that she made a big mistake and would never do it again. Her brain, on the other hand, told her that she should leave him alone, she only made his life more miserable. It told her he would eventually hate her in the future, it was best to break it off now, and even if she did run back and apologize, it was probably too late. He probably didn't want to see her again.

Her heart told what she wanted to believe, while the brain told her what she didn't.

She just wished she could get the both of them to shut up. It was giving her a headache and swollen eyes. How many tears could one girl shed?

She didn't know what she would do once morning came. She had the whole weekend to think about. Then school…

_School._

She shuddered violently for only a mere moment. The thought was terrifying. She had no idea what would happen once school happened…

And what was even worse? What she would do when she saw Wally. It was inevitable that she would see him.

No, she couldn't think about that either. It was too much.

_Home. Think of going home. Don't think about…anything else…_

However, the sight of home did little to comfort her, though she was expecting the outcome. She sighed heartbrokenly, shuddering at a blast of cold wind embracing her. There were times she felt that maybe she'd be better off if she were as cold as the said wind. Maybe then she wouldn't care about what others said so much…

She stepped onto the porch, the wood creaking tiredly from being stepped on for so many years. The house was completely dark, no one was home. Surprise, surprise. Sighing a devastating sigh, she reached under a small plant in a pot and pulled out the hidden key to her house and opened the door. She flicked on the hallway lights, and blinked at the sudden light. She'd been in the dark for so long, it hurt to be in such brightness.

For once, she was glad to be alone in the house. She certainly didn't feel like explaining to anyone what had happened, especially not Mushi. While she knew her younger sister would ask how the night went, Kuki wanted to keep it a secret for as long as possible, and maybe even successfully avoid the subject of to where her dress went, as there was only one option to where to put it.

The trash.

She dragged herself upstairs, carefully avoiding getting dried mud on the stairs. She took a shower after taking off the dress, and spent a half hour trying to get all the mud off of herself. She scrubbed her scalp so hard it felt raw when she dried herself off. She slipped into her comfiest pajamas, made of cotton dyed green with rainbow monkeys on them. Yes, even rainbow monkeys appeared on young adult pajamas…

She had managed to keep her mind completely blank during these tasks. However, while the mind could forget, the heart never did. She still felt that aching, dull pain inside, an ache all too familiar.

_Welcome back, Misery, _she greeted it, none too thrilled. Misery was a friend she never really liked to spend time with, but he was faithful indeed. He always came back, no matter what she did.

She didn't think of him until she returned to her bedside, flopping down upon her mattress.

She stared at the blank white ceiling, her eyes reflecting what seemed to be a lack of emotion. It was far from true, of course. It felt like waves of emotion were crashing around in her chest, a hurricane disrupting what had earlier been feelings of happiness and love. Wally twirling her under the dim lights, holding her as close as two people could ever get, looking at her like she was the only one that mattered, whispering things only she was meant to hear…

A bucket falling upon them. Slop covering them head to toe. Laughing, horrible hideous laughing. Boys keeping Wally from running to her…People surrounding Kuki, chanting words like _useless, pathetic, a waste of time…_

_No, stop, stop! _she screamed in her head, trying to keep the memories of the night out of her head. But she couldn't, she just couldn't! The past just kept torturing and torturing her, like a demon had taken over her brain, forcing her to remember all of the pain and suffering she went through…

She grew restless laying atop her bed, turning to and fro, feeling restless and lonely and horribly devastated. Her face was red and wet from crying, her hair was tangled from being tossed around in all her restlessness, her forehead was sweaty, the room felt so _hot…_ Her breathing was short, she hiccupped from all her misery, her muscles ached from all the running she had done. She still kept thinking about Wally, about them, about the night, everything wonderful and terrible that had happened, all of them seeming to squeeze her heart, her chest…Her heart was racing as if struggling to breathe…

She got up from her bed, and got a wet towel from the bathroom to wipe her face and cool her down. She took a good long look at herself in the mirror. It didn't seem possible, but she looked even worse than before, even when she had mud all over herself. Her eyes felt raw and dry. Her face was flushed and wind burnt. Her whole body seemed to shake from all the emotion inside of her. She felt exhausted, yet she couldn't seem to rest.

_Wally…_ She wondered what he was doing at that exact moment. Was he still looking for her? Did he go home? What did his parents say, with all the mud on his tuxedo? How was he feeling? Did he want to see her as much as she wanted to see him?

_I didn't even give him a chance to speak to me before I ran out, I was too ashamed…_

She began walking back to her room, feeling wobbly and unbalanced, her eyes drooping, nose sniffling. She walked by the telephone and for a moment considered calling Wally, but soon dejected the idea. _There's no way he wants to talk to me, he probably hates me now…He probably doesn't want to see me either…_

That just sent her deeper into depression. She tried once again to lay on her bed and calm down, but no avail. She felt even more restless and upset than before. She turned to her side, facing her nightstand, and her eyes drifted to the pictures lying there, the ones with her and Wally…

There was the one from where they were friends, the first one, and the one when they went on a date, the one where the third picture was of her kissing him on the cheek. That last one really put a puncture into her chest. His face was so surprised, blushing from Kuki's lips on the side of his face. Would that picture be the last they ever took together? Did Kuki just end their relationship by running away, refusing to let him catch up with her? Were they through? The feeling in her stomach gave her an answer, one she was afraid was right.

_I ruined it. I ruined everything. I shouldn't have ran away…I shouldn't have ran away from him. We would've worked things out, but I wouldn't let him, and now I'm probably never going to talk to him ever again. Wally…I'm so sorry…_

Suddenly something on the floor caught her eye, something lying next to the nightstand. An envelope, with her name written on the front in blocky handwriting…

_Wait…The letter! Wally wrote that for me! _She remembered it now! Wally had given it to her after her first lesson on confidence with him. He had said to only read it when she was feeling down and sad.

As if it were a precious treasure, she picked it up gently, gazing at it steadily. Inside was something he had wrote for her, something she was to read by herself without him around, when she was upset and miserable…

And both of those things applied to that very moment. Yet, she was hesitant to open it. What if it only hurt her more? Did she even have the right to read it, given the current situation? If Wally knew she read it, would he get angry?

Her fingers made the decision before her brain could, and the envelope was torn open. Inside was a piece of plain notebook paper, nothing fancy. She took it out delicately, her eyes scanning the room. It was ridiculous, nobody was there, no one would catch her. But you could never be too cautious…

Writing was scrawled all over it in pen, various blotches and scratched-out words appearing in the letter. Wally had never been much of a writer, and there were still a few mistakes, but Kuki didn't care less at the moment. Her heart practically stopped working at the sight of his writing. It was as if he were talking to her without even being there next to her. Before she could consider if reading it was a good idea or not, she began to read.

_Dear Kuki,_

_Hey. How are ya? Um, so you're probably wondering what the crud this is all about, right? Why I didn't want you to read this with me around, and why I only wanted you to read this when you were feeling crummy? Well, Kooks, I'll level with ya: I'm not very good at this kind of stuff. Writing, that is. I'm not too great at being all mushy and stuff either. I don't do it much, 'cause I gotta be tough, ya know? But, well, for you, that is…Man, this is hard to write, sorry if this ends up being covered in splotches…Just be prepared, okay? 'Cause I'm about to get real mushy, real fluffy, 'cause I just know you're sticking to your word, Kuki. I know you feel sad right now, because you're a good person, and you wouldn't break your promise on reading this, you didn't let curiosity get the best of you. Me, I would've read this right away, I'm not good at waiting. But you are. You're good at a lot of things…_

_Oh, crud, I'm really getting off topic here. Sorry! I just…It's so hard to put things into words, I never do stuff like this. Well, I guess I can start out by telling you why I wrote this. You see, as much as I wish I could, I can't be around you all the time. And you get sad a lot, more than you should. So I figured, maybe if I wrote you a letter to make you feel better, that'd be just as good, right? And who doesn't like getting letters? And yeah, I could've just sent you an email, or called you, or something but…I don't know, this just seemed better!_

_So um, here I go. I'm not gonna be tough right now, I'm about to get real sappy, so be prepared._

_Kuki, I know I've told you this a few times, but I'm gonna tell you again anyway, because it's important and I think it's a good way to start this letter off._

_Kuki, I love you._

_A lot._

_I don't know when I started liking you that way, not really. I just kinda realized it one day. My mom started talking about you, and she was like, oh, hey, do you love her? Because the way you talk about her makes it sound like you do. And I denied it, but I started thinking that maybe I did. And I looked at your picture, and I started feeling all weird, and that's when I knew. But I think I had always felt that way about you. Sometimes I feel like I've known you a lot longer than I really have, like I've met you before but can't remember…_

_Oh crud, I just realized that I mentioned my mom in this. You know what, just ignore that. In fact, let me start over…Aah, this is so cruddy difficult! You're probably laughing right now. I would._

_But, like I said (or is it wrote?), I think I've always had feelings for you, Kuki, I just didn't realize it until then. And sometimes…I don't think I'll ever stop loving you, because I think about you all the time. I'm happiest when I'm around you, Kuki. No one makes me smile as much as you do. I just don't understand why your life turned out the way it did. You're the kindest person I've ever met, with a heart so big I can't imagine what size it is. And you're so smart, and talented too! You could be anything you wanted to be, do whatever you wanted…Cure cancer, make a rocket, grow wings, be the best artist ever and paint the perfect picture (just don't cut your ear off like that one guy did), design a videogame, count all the stars at night…If someone could do those things, it'd be you. You're a lotta fun to be around, cuz you like to do pretty much everything like videogames and pillow fights and all sorts of stuff. And you're really pretty. Well, beautiful, actually. I would write more about that, but my parents are right outside my door and I don't want them to catch me all red in the face. Anyways, you're all that stuff, and a lot more. I'm serious, Kuki, I'm not lying._

_So I really don't understand why everyone is so mean to you. The only reason I can think of is that they're jealous because you're so much better than they are. They wish they were perfect like you. But they need to wake up and smell the cruddy roses, because they'll never be perfect like you. You're the one and only. Kooks, no one should have the power to bring you down the way they do. You need to realize just how awesome you are. You need to believe in yourself the way I believe in you. You need to love yourself the way I do. You shouldn't have trouble finding the confidence you need, Kuki, because of all your awesomeness (awesome-osity? Awesomery?). But you have trouble anyway, and I don't understand why. If I were you I'd hold my head up high and smirk at everyone because they wish they were me. But then again, you're nice and I'm not, so I guess that doesn't matter anyway. (Why do I keep writing stupid things?) _

_I'm begging you, Kuki, pleading you, to stop hating yourself so much. I hate hate hate HATE seeing you sad, especially when you cry. I HATE seeing you scold yourself when you didn't do anything wrong. I HATE it when you believe the mean things people say about you, because it's so far from the truth. Sometimes I just wanna hug you and shake you at the same time, because you still don't get it! Kuki, you're amazing!_

_So just love yourself already. You don't deserve all this sadness, all this self-hate. You deserve kindness, and friends, and love, and most importantly, happiness. Happiness, Kuki. Go for it. _

_I heard a saying once, and whenever I hear it, I think of you, because it's true for you:_

_Kuki, you're worth the world._

_And I wouldn't trade you for anything. Not even for all-year-round wrestling tickets. And trust me, that's saying something._

_Please be happy._

_~Wally_

_P.S. I'm going to go do something tough and manly now, but before I do, I forgot to let you know…I'll always be there for ya. Even if we don't last forever, I'll always look after you. You're never going to be alone ever again._

By the time she finished reading, tears were splattered all over the page.

But the words were still there. They always would be.

* * *

**Okay, the NEXT chapter WILL BE THE LAST. I MEAN IT THIS TIME. IT WILL BE THE LAST. THIS STORY WILL END IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. THIS IS NO LIE. IT WILL BE THE LAST.**

**Please review! Sorry for the long wait! I know some of you were growing impatient, and I'm really flattered by that. Reviewers asking me to hurry up really IS encouraging! I wanted to finish the story in this chap, but I figured oh well. Besides, I think I know what to name the last chapter now…**


	24. The End

**Kuki will be weak at first, but keep reading. She gets stronger. That's all I'm telling you, I won't give it away.**

**Here begins the ending.**

**I cannot apologize enough for the longest wait I have ever made you endure. I hope three chapters being posted all around the same time can make up for it.**

**Disclaimer: Codename: Kids Next Door belongs solely to Mr. Warburton.**

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 24, Part 1: The Ending

Epiphany- (noun) A sudden realization, one that could change a person's life forever.

Kuki had one of these, shortly after the night of the dance. It occurred around 2:30 p.m., on a sunny Monday afternoon, outside of Gallagher High School.

He was there. Wallabee Beetles. He was in the crowd. He watched it happen.

Abigail Lincoln and Hoagie P. Gilligan were there, two people who soon became an important part of Wally and Kuki's life.

Connor and Delilah watched it too, a couple whose lives would forever change from that day.

Nigel Uno was not there. It wasn't his time to enter the story, not yet. He was in space somewhere, the location could never be exact. But he would enter soon, one day. It was only a matter of time.

But the story is getting ahead of itself. No, for it to be told properly, the time must be turned back, back to Friday night.

On with the story.

"Good morning, sport! How're you feeling?"

It was a question that really didn't need to be asked, because the answer was staring at Mr. Beetles straight in the face, dressed in an orange t-shirt and black boxer shorts, his usual nightwear. The clothes were as wrinkled as fabric could get, probably from all the tossing and turning Wally had done over the course of the night, trying to get to sleep. His hair was everywhere, while still maintaining a bowl-like form. Wisps of blonde hair stuck out everywhere, and when Wally tried to brush it back with his hand it just stuck right back up. It made the boy scowl; he was going to have to brush it. It was such a nuisance, messing with hair.

Of course, his clothes were nothing compared to Wally's face. His eyes seemed cloudy and distant, small bags under them from lack of sleep. He seemed paler than usual, though his father couldn't tell if it was from depression, sickness, or just staying inside throughout the weekend. He seemed older, as if he had aged rapidly or something. A depressing darkness seemed to cover him, as if a rainy cloud hovered above him everywhere he went.

In short, he looked like heck.

Wally just gave him a look saying _are you kidding me? _His father knew as well just how ridiculous the question was, and he chuckled in pity for his son, trying to smile as if everything was just fine in the world. "Not so good, eh?"

"Meh," was all he said. He wanted to go back to bed. He envied Joey…He was so lucky, he was in elementary school, he didn't have to get up so early…

"Well, nothing a little breakfast can't help fix!" his mother said, popping into the room out of nowhere. Wally wanted to groan, but refrained from doing so. His mother had been spying on him all weekend. She poked into his room whenever she could, asking him annoying questions over what had happened Friday night. She would take his hands and look into his eyes, and tell him she could tell him anything, that she was there for him, and that telling her would make him feel better. He appreciated the sentiment, but he wasn't the kind of guy to confide into his mother…Or anyone, really. He was the kind of guy that kept things to himself. He hadn't even told Matt and Connor what was going on.

There was only one person he could really talk to about his feelings…One person that could really make him feel better…

It was strange though. That said person was also the very person he stayed away from all weekend by locking himself up in his room.

But there was no hiding anymore. It was time to wake up and face the music…It was MONDAY. The weekend was over. School wasn't.

Mrs. Beetles immediately whipped up some eggs and bacon, and plunked a plate of it down onto the table, in the space that Wally always sat in. "Go on, young man, sit down and eat!" she insisted, pushing him to his seat since he was less than motivated to move. "Got a big day ahead of ya! You'll learn, and socialize, maybe even-"

"Not goin' to school," Wally muttered, pushing his plate away and laying his head on the table. "Don't wanna."

"Oh, yes you are, Wallabee," his father said, rather calmly. It was quite surprising, really. Wally's dad was a very cheerful kind of person, always smiling and enjoying life for what it was. He seldom ever got really serious or demanding. He hardly ever gave lectures, either.

But, there was a first time for everything.

"I've had enough of this. Where's your spirit?" he asked, putting down his newspaper and pausing to take a sip at his coffee. "I don't think I've ever seen you like this. You're just…just…giving up! That's not the Wallabee Beetles I know. The Wally I know doesn't let anything get in his way. He never lets anyone keep him from living. But now look at you! Weepy, quiet, reserved…That's not you! Oh, you're goin' to school, mister," he said again, fully aware of the emerald glare he was receiving from his son. "You never let anything stop you from living before, and I'm certainly not going to let you start now. Now eat your breakfast, get your butt upstairs, do something with that hair, get dressed, and get goin'. You're tough Wally, but I'm your father, and you'll do what I say 'till you move outta here, or until I die. And I'm not dead yet, so ha."

Finished with his lecture, Mr. Beetles picked up his paper, no longer needing to speak. Wally had gotten the picture, though he wasn't happy about it. He grudgingly picked up his fork, and started shoveling scrambled egg into his mouth. He was scowling.

_Stupid Dad with his stupid rules and his stupid house and his stupid newspaper…Just wait 'till I send you to a retirement home, old man!_

He didn't mean it, but it felt good. At least his father couldn't control his mind. Once he finished, he headed up the stairs, but not without giving his dad another glare. Mr. Beetles' eyes never left the paper, but he sensed the glare, and merely smirked. Once Wally left, a hand landed on Mr. Beetles' shoulder, and he looked up to see his wife standing there.

"I have never been more attracted to you in my entire life," she said, staring at him like he were a saint.

Mr. Beetles only grinned. It was obvious where Wally had gotten his grin from. "When am I not attractive?"

* * *

"Yo, sis, wake up. Rise and shine, stupid."

Her eyelids felt so heavy, she didn't want to wake up. It was the _last _thing she wanted to do. Waking up meant school, and school meant pain, and pain meant heartbreak, and-

"Sis…" Her tone had been harsh, but now it sounded gentle, and full of pity. "You've got to get up. It's time to face the music. You messed up. Everything's messed up. You can't let that ruin you. You've never given up before. Why start now?"

She forced her eyes open, and found Mushi staring at her, a sorrowful look on the young girl's face. Kuki had told her everything on Saturday, and turned into nothing but a puddle of salty bitter tears. She had looked so pained Mushi had even patted her on the back, which was the closest thing to a hug Kuki would ever get from her.

"I was going to wake up," she said truthfully, slowly forcing herself to sit up. "I'm just so tired…Full of nerves…I think the sleeping pill I took is still in my system."

"Oh…So you're going to school?"

"Yeah…" Her eyes glanced over at the piece of paper on her nightstand. She hadn't told Mushi anything about the letter that Kuki now held close to her heart everyday. She hadn't been able to sleep, she couldn't get Wally's words out of her mind, nor Friday's incident. The dance was so horrible, the letter so honest and kind…She got a headache just thinking about it.

But there was something about the letter that gave her some sort of urge. She felt like she should do _something, anything. _Something to make everything okay…

She just didn't know what that something was. She tried to think of how to improve her situation…Pleading to Wally, getting him a gift, writing him a letter back…

But every time she thought of an idea, something told her that wasn't right, and not only just because Kuki knew the ideas wouldn't work. She had a gut feeling that she knew what she had to do, she just hadn't thought of it yet. She desperately hoped she'd come up with it before the weekend finished, but alas, no avail.

"Well, ya better get up and book it, we gotta leave in fifteen minutes. I let you sleep as much as you could. I'm going to go ahead and leave." She turned, and looked back at her after opening the door. With one last look, she said, "Good luck, Kuki. With everything."

"Thanks, Mushi," her older sister replied, giving her the most cheerful smile she could muster so she wouldn't worry. "It's all gonna be okay, don't stress!"

Mushi just shook her head. "You know, it wouldn't be wrong if you worried about yourself for once, instead of everyone else. No one will hate you for it." And with that, she closed the door, still shaking her head. She was sure everything would go wrong for her on that day. But she couldn't worry, not until after school. She was a little more sensible when it came to stressing, unlike her older anxiety-prone sister. It was better to not think about it until her sister returned from school.

_That's gonna be hard, _she thought, shoving her fists frustratingly into her pockets. _Now that I actually like Kuki, the wreckless moron…Ugh! I need a root beer…_

Back to Kuki…

Well, she sat in her bed, staring at nothing, for three minutes before her brain could start going into high alarm. Normally she would've jumped up and scrambled back and forth, trying to get ready for school, and then run for it like a cheetah running for her prey. But not today. Today, she could afford one measly tardy.

Once she got up she stretched long and hard, hoping to ease her aching shoulders. She had been so tense the past couple of days, and had hardly moved at all. A hot shower would've helped, but she didn't have time for that (thank goodness she had taken one the night before). The stretching didn't help much, but she hoped once she moved around and got her blood pumping they'd relax a bit.

Kicking her slippers off, she dragged herself to the closet and just picked a random long-sleeved green shirt and black pants, then her standard black and white converse shoes. Fashion was never really her thing, and today was definitely a dress down kind of day.

She brushed her teeth, her hand gripping the toothbrush handle so tight her knuckles were white. She stared at herself in the mirror, watching her reflection mimic her every move. Half of her wanted to punch the mirror till it broke into tiny little pieces; she didn't want to look at herself, it made her feel like scum. Luckily, the more practical half of herself kept her from doing so. Glass was pointy, and she did not feel like going to school with bloody knuckles.

Downstairs in the kitchen she grabbed a muffin from the fridge, eating it in a matter of seconds. Still hungry, she grabbed yet another one, and shoved it in her mouth. Stress could really make someone hungry, and Kuki was no exception. Refraining from grabbing another one, she grabbed her backpack, and went outside the door.

She took her own sweet time getting to school. To her, the time just didn't matter anymore.

* * *

_Creak….BANG!_

It was as if the world had gone quiet, the moment Wallabee Beetles made his entrance into Gallagher High. He had practically crashed through the doors, pushing them so hard it hit against the wall with a horrible crash.

He stood as if he were ready for an oncoming attack. His legs stood apart, somewhat bent, his arms still spread like wings from opening the doors. His emerald eyes showed nothing but brutal bitterness, dread, and a hate…The hate was the most easily shown. It practically radiated from him, heating everyone in the hallway with an uncomfortable heat. Its as if he could see right through them, deep inside their souls, to see the pathetic little souls they truly were. Or, so they thought.

Wally really didn't think much about everyone else. His mind was blank. All he felt was some sort of rage caged up inside him, rattling its prison in attempt to free itself. When it would finally show itself, he didn't know.

He felt like he didn't know _anything._

Everyone was literally staring at him, speechless. They were curious as to what he would do. He didn't move yet, he just stood there staring down into the hallway, his focus not really on anything. It was dead silent.

He felt everyone's attention on him, and he just grit his teeth. "What're YOU all starin' at? Get lost!" He closed his eyes, hoping his feelings of hatred would calm down by not looking at his unwanted acquaintances. But just because he couldn't see them didn't mean they weren't there.

After about a minute of walking he calmed down, his frown just turning to a straight line, and his eyes turning from blazing fireballs to just sad, worried looking glasses into his soul. He started walking sluggishly, as if a huge weight were on his shoulders, one he couldn't move. He felt numb.

He got to his locker, and was surprised to find it in the state it was. Apparently, someone had thought it'd be fun to spray paint his locker, spraying words like _LOSER _and _WEAKLING, _along with some very inappropriate ones, and _WEENIE. _Wads of chewed gum were stuck onto it, hard and dirty, showing it was done a long enough time ago for it to dry. Egg yolk was also smeared all over the front.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to grab the nearest guy to him and punch his lights out, but the small sophomore he laid his eyes on ran away like a baby. Wally yelled after him with a shaking fist, "Yeah, you better run! NOBODY MESSES WITH WALLY BEETLES!"

He then swung around and punched a gigantic dent into his already-ruined locker, barely grimacing at the crack that erupted from his knuckle. His fist was quite used to it.

_Nobody better mess with me today…_he thought, jaws clenched. _Or I swear, they'll all regret it!_

* * *

She was so afraid of stepping inside, as if she were stepping through the Inner Gates of Hell instead of just through the door of Gallagher High. It seemed such a long time ago, the last time she was afraid of going to school. Usually Wally was there beside her, gripping her hand sturdily yet gently at the same time, guiding her through the door and protecting her from all the dastardly people within.

But he wasn't there. All she had was an empty space beside her. She had to protect her own self this time, because she was on her own.

Her hand had never felt so empty.

She gulped, a loud, anxious noise erupting from her throat, and she coughed from swallowing too hard. Her hands and feet were shaking still, as it had been all morning. It was so tempting to just turn back home, go upstairs, and hide from the world under the covers of her warm, safe bed.

_No, _she thought, gazing at the small window in the door, hearing the loud voices of students heading to class inside the school. _I can't back out now…I have to do this…If I have any dignity left…_

She treated the door as if it were a swimming pool with cold water. She dived right through into the cold depths inside.

Her entrance wasn't so quiet. She was greeted with a cold wave of laughs and snickers from everyone. Fingers pointed, eyes beamed into her face like a harsh beam of light in a dark, dark room. Pearly white smirks took the place on everyone's face, a symphony of jabs and cold remarks making their way into her ears.

"Hey, it's the Queen of the Mud! All hail the Queen!"

"Hey loser, I have some extra shampoo in my locker if you need help getting the dirt out of your hair!"

"Your dress looked ugly, but I think the mud really improved it! It suited you more after that!"

"So does everyone who dances with you get a mud bath with every song?"

It was like an endless dodge ball game, only Kuki was on one team, and everyone else on the other, hurling insults at her until she was covered in metaphorical bruises. They didn't need to touch her for her to feel all their jabbing and stabbing.

But the biggest stab of all?

Wally.

He was watching her, standing at the opposite side of the crowd. His eyes, his emerald, magnificent eyes, seemed to penetrate right through her. She couldn't breathe, looking at him.

"Wally…" she choked, barely getting it out. "Wally."

Everyone who heard turned to look in the direction of her stare, others soon following suit. Some of their faces were curious, seeing what Kuki's boyfriend(?) would do. Would he defend her? Have a fight with her? Embrace her in tears? (Well, maybe not _tears…_)

Others smirked at him, daring him to make a move. As a whole, they knew he couldn't fight them. He was the strongest guy in the school, but he didn't have a chance against almost the entire student population. He'd have to be Hulk to do that.

The tension increased, and his stare on her intensified. He stared only at her face, as if searching for something, anything, to make it all okay again.

Suddenly, his face…It just fell, fell into a look of such sadness and broken-heartedness that it gave Kuki a kind of searing, burning, stinging pain she had never felt before. It was like being ripped in half, like a weak, flimsy piece of paper.

She knew what he meant by that look. She had known what he was going to do all along, but she had denied it, until now. And even then, it practically killed her when he said:

"I'm sorry; I can't do this anymore…" The quivering in his voice was unmistakable. His eyes were shut tight, trying to trap the tears threatening to escape.

"It's over, Kuki."

Her heart stopped beating. Some sort of sound, sort of like a hiccup, escaped through her lips, though she wasn't sure what it was. She couldn't seem to find it in her to breathe. She gripped the hem of her shirt. A few tears already escaped from her.

Wally looked away. He didn't want to do it; he didn't want to hurt her, that was never his intention. But…

"_Wally…How can you love her when she doesn't even love herself? Don't you think that's selfish…To make her love you before she can love herself? Seems sort of useless."_

He still loved Kuki with every fiber of his being. He wanted nothing more than to stay with her, and hold her in his arms and keep her to himself forever and ever. But Brooke was right. He despised admitting it, but she was right. It was selfish of him to expect Kuki to love him more than herself.

_It's the best for both of us, _he thought, attempting to convince himself he was doing the right thing. _I can't help her anyway. I tried, and I failed. She still hates herself. We're not right for each other. I'm doing the right thing…_

Kuki's soft sobbing echoed in his ears.

_I'm doing the right thing!_

"Can…Can we at least…at least…?"

Oh no…He had to hurt her even more. He knew what she was going to say. He stopped her before she could finish.

"No. We can't, Kuki. I'm sorry, but we can't be friends. It just…it wouldn't be right. I…"

_IloveyoubutI'…_

"I…I have to go!"

He shut his eyes tightly to keep himself from seeing more. He shoved his way through the crowd, not even caring if he accidentally knocked anyone down. He raced down a hallway, he wasn't even sure where he was going.

But anywhere was better than there.

He was gone.

Kuki's mind was nothing but a mess.

_ThisisallmyfaultWallyI'..._

"Girl? Hey, hon? It's alright, get on up, girl. C'mon, Abby will help you up."

Another angel had arrived.

* * *

It didn't take Abby and Hoagie long to figure out what had happened since they had left the dance that night. It was almost as if they had never _left, _they heard every single detail of the embarrassing, heartbreaking tale of Kuki and Wally's night. They both gasped at the evilness of it all.

"That is just down right nasty!" Abby fumed. "Abby can't believe this! This would've never happened at OUR old school!"

"Yeah," Hoagie said, shaking his head sadly. "Too bad we were transferred from Musselman. The people there are a little more friendly…Well, except maybe Ernie…" He shuddered at the thought of the guy that would give him wedges every other day. Thank goodness Abby was there…She was more manly than he was when it came to pure physicality. Sure, he had lost some weight, but he was still the same lovable gentle boy he'd always been, so his weight never really mattered. People still loved him, despite his lack of strength.

"Yeah. This Brooke gal just sounds like nothing but trouble. I feel bad for those two! I almost feel…_responsible _for them…It's so weird…It's like my mind is telling me I know them, but then again I don't…"

"I know, me too. Think they'd say the same thing about us? "

"I dunno, but-"

"I'm sorry; I can't do this anymore."

Simultaneously the two of them whipped their heads towards the direction of the voice. "Hey, is that the tough kid? The big muscley one?" Hoagie asked Abby, remembering the huge Australian.

"I think so," she said. "He sounds upset…"

"Let's go look!"

"What? Hoagie, that's spying, we shouldn't…."

He grabbed her wrist before she could protest, and they went around the corner into the next hallway. Apparently, they weren't the only ones that were watching the two. There were a bunch of kids watching them. The thing was, the two looked too miserable to even care that they were putting on a show for everybody.

"Can we…Can we at least…At least…?"

The sound of Kuki's voice broke the both of their hearts, which was weird. Abby and Hoagie had seen plenty of break-ups, some of them with people they knew very well. Why'd they care so much about this girl? And the guy too?"

"No. We can't, Kuki. I'm sorry, but we can't be friends. It's just…It wouldn't be right. I…"

He looked at her, for a second. It seemed to say so much, and it was easy to tell he wanted to open his mouth and say something. But…

"I…I have to go!"

He bolted away, and Abby grabbed Hoagie and brought his ear to her lips.

"We should help!" she said hastily, worry in her voice. "I know we really shouldn't butt into their business, but…"

"No, I get it," he agreed. "I wanna help too. How 'bout I go help the girl and…"

"_Nuh-uh!_" she said in her don't-even-argue-with-me voice. "That girl is _not _gonna want to speak to a _boy _after her _boy_friend broke up with her. No way, I'm gonna talk to 'er. You're gonna talk to him."

"What?" He practically jumped out of his shoes in alarm. "You're kidding, right? In case you haven't noticed, that dude's _big! _I'm a little whimpy nerd, he'll rip me to pieces!"

"I thought you and I agreed we felt like we knew em' already! Don't you wanna meet him?"

"Well, yeah, but…" He smiled sheepishly. "I was kinda hoping I could befriend him through the girl…"

Abby rolled her eyes. "Boy, you're hopeless. Just go!" She pushed him towards Wally's direction, and before he could protest, she eagerly ran off to the girl now sobbing on her knees to help her up.

Hoagie harrumphed. _She better give me a HUGE kiss once that guy beats my face in… _With a sigh, he set out for the hulk in the orange hoodie. School was starting soon, and he didn't have much time…

_Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!_

Crap. Too late. He'd have to wait until lunch to speak with him, as Hoagie's classes didn't match up with any of Wally's.

Hoagie couldn't help but sigh. _At least now I have time to prepare for what I'm going to say…So he doesn't throttle me to death!_

* * *

Needless to say, Brooke was in a great mood that day.

"Really? He FINALLY broke up with her? For real?" she squealed, sickly excited about it.

"I was right there in the crowd watching!" Selene said, Jared's former date from the dance. The two had actually become a little closer since Delilah wasn't at the dance to gab with Brooke, so she was eager to share the news in hopes of establishing a larger friendship status with her. "He told her right in front of everyone, like he didn't even care!"

"What he say? How did he sound?" she asked, practically in her face, panting for information like a dog being tempted with a hotdog. "Devastated? Furious? Serious?"

Selene paused for a moment, practically killing Brooke in suspense. "Well…It's hard to describe…It was obvious his heart was broken," she said, remembering the look of his deep, sad eyes. "But other than that…He was just sort of blank. Like you could tell he was in pain by just how expressionless he was, you know?"

Brooke blinked. She was not a very deep girl, so of course she did not understand what Selene was trying to say. "So…he was sad?"

Selene blushed. Why did she have to say such stupid things around her? "Uh…Yeah. Sad. Very sad. Heartbroken."

The blonde sighed. "Well, I knew it was asking way too much to hope for him to stop having feelings for her. But, at least they're broken up!" she said happily, a twisted smile on her face. "Now everything can go back to normal: Kuki being a hated outcast, Wally being a tough mysterious hottie, and me remaining the most popular person in school. I can't _wait _to find them later." She put her hands into tense fists. _It's time to rub it in, and laugh at their faces! With their hearts broken, nothing can stop me now!_

* * *

It seemed surreal, like a dream. One second she was down on her knees sobbing over the loss of the object of her heart, and the next a kind, beautiful stranger was speaking to her softly, like a mother comforting a child, offering her a hand to get her off the ground.

Kuki did not know the name of this girl. She wasn't even sure if she had ever met her before. But Kuki had never seen a perfect stranger treat her with such generosity and kindness before. Maybe she really _was _an angel…

"_Girl? Hey, hon? It's alright, get on up, girl. C'mon, Abby will help you up."_

_Kuki stared at the girl's hand offering her assistance, completely astounded. Was she being nice to HER?_

_The dark-skinned red-capped girl laughed. "Don't worry, I won't bite!" She took the initiative and didn't wait for Kuki to take her hand; she just grabbed Kuki's instead and heaved her up easily with the strength of her arm. "There; that's better than cryin' on a dirty floor, isn't it?"_

"_H-Huh?" was all she could muster. "W-What? Who are…?"_

_Briiiiiiiiiing!_

"_Dang, the bell!" the girl said, staring at the red and gold bell on the wall angrily, as if it had personally insulted her. "Listen; I gotta go, but I'll catch ya later, alright?"_

_She smiled at her as if Kuki was her best friend, with a confident glint in her eye that was similar, yet different, from the kind of glint Wally had. Taking Kuki's silence as a yes, she gave her the OK sign. _

"_See ya later then, girl!" And with a wave, she walked off, grabbing a schedule from out of her pants pocket and flapping it open for a look. Kuki just stood there, dazed._

_Had that been a hallucination?_

Of course, while the mysterious angel of a girl lingered in Kuki's mind every once in a while, it was no surprise that someone else occupied her mind much more than just her. In fact, every time Kuki forgot her current situation for even a millisecond, her heart was quick to remind her of it by tearing just a little more, the remaining few seams holding it together already fraying. It was so painful, so sickening, gripping her pencil was all she could do from screaming and bursting to more tears.

Everything her eyes landed on reminded her of him, even if it seemingly had nothing in relation to him: Chalk was the color of his sneakers, grass the color of his eyes. She wondered if Wally sat in the same desk she did whenever he had math, or health, or history. Was he thinking about her, right here, right now? How miserable had she made him, when she had run away from him that night?

Was he going to stay out of her life forever? That's the part that really wanted to make her scream; a life without Wally was a living nightmare to her. This was no normal breakup; it wasn't just some random relationship that happened, one that a person could just get over thanks to some advice from a teen magazine. Wally was (from as long as _she _could remember) her first best friend, the first person she ever opened up to. He was her first kiss, her first true love, her hero, her knight in shining armor…

He was her everything.

Losing him felt like losing everything.

She needed him. She was certain of it.

The letter from Wally seemed to burn in her pocket, she could feel it weighing down on her, hear the slight rustle of it as she moved. It had been the only thing that had kept her sane over the past few days. She had read it so many counts she couldn't recall just how many. Ten? Twenty? Thirty? Did it even matter? Either way, she couldn't find the secret message, the clue she was certain held the answer to what she should do next. And it was torturing her.

She felt that she didn't even know the difference between right and wrong anymore. When she had run away she thought that Wally didn't need her anymore, that all she did was bring him pain and misery. She had believed he would be better with someone else. But then she had read the letter, and it had contradicted everything she had been afraid of; it said that he was happiest around her, and she made him smile, and wouldn't trade her for anything.

But he had given her that letter before the dance had even _happened._ That was how he had felt _before _the bucket of mud fell on them, _before_ she ran away and broke his heart, _before _he broke up with her in the middle of the crowded hallway…

_What does he think of me now? How does he feel? Does he miss me?_

The picture of his face that morning suddenly flashed through her mind; his deep, mournful eyes, his mouth set in a deep, dark-lined frown, his messy frazzled bowl-cut hair…

_He still loves me._

She tucked her hand into her pocket and clutched the letter like she would never let it go.

_He said he'll always love me._

Was there any way she could fix this?

_And I'll always love him, _she thought, her heart pounding for him. _He may be better off with someone else, and I may be selfish for wanting him back despite that….But I'll always love him._

Her heart felt as if it were rising into her neck. She swallowed it back into place.

_And that's something that Brooke can never change._

* * *

Before he had met her, Wally had always thought he was unbreakable. He believed his heart would always be strong, solid, without so much as a single crack defacing it. But the second he entered his history class and planted himself at his desk, his head collapsed against the desk, his face contorted with internal pain. A broken heart was _not _one of the things he was hoping to find moving back to the United States. Life was cruel that way.

"_Hello, Wally!"_

Life was relentless, too.

"My, my, my, you and Kuki are the talk of the entire school!" Brooke said, bouncing over to his desk, sitting atop it after Wally had lifted his head. His fire-and-hate filled eyes had no effect on her, as she continued to smile broadly in the same twisted, sick happiness she had the moment she ruined his relationship.

Why oh _why _did he have to have the same history class with her? _Why?_

"Get away from me." His voice rumbled and quaked in anger and hurt. Pretty soon there would be an explosion, an earthquake.

"Well, someone's in a bad mood today!" she huffed, pretending to be unsatisfied with his unhappiness. "Really, and I thought I was doing you a favor, helping you get rid of that girl."

"_That girl _has a name, and you didn't help me _do _anything. You suck and I hate you, now go away!" He wanted to pound his fists against the desk in anger, but he had received enough attention lately. The last thing he needed was even more of it.

"Oh, that hurt, Wally. That hurt right here," she joked, panging her fist against her chest. "Ow."

"Don't push me…"

"Why? You gonna hit me, Wally? Are you going to raise your fist against me? Todd told me what you said: real men don't hit girls. Isn't that right? Isn't that what you said?"

She stuck her face right into his. "Are you a real man, Wally? Or are you really just a _wimp?_"

That pushed him over the edge. He couldn't take this anymore. He stood up from his desk, glad to be higher than her now. It made him feel much more powerful.

"Stay outta my way," he said, eyes slanted so they looked straight into hers, showing he meant business. "Listen, you stupid Sheila, I _am _a man. More than Todd or any of your stupid guy friends will ever be. I ain't gonna hit ya, but I swear, I am not gonna take any of this crud from you anymore."

This time he put his face in hers.

"You're not the only one that can fight dirty. I have tricks too. And if you don't _leave me alone, _I'll use all I've got to take you down without even laying a finger on you. I don't want to be popular, Brooke; but if being popular is what it takes to get people to see you for who you are, then I swear I'll do it."

She cackled right in his face, and for a moment for face seemed almost ugly. "Are you for real? You think you can take me down? I'd like to see you try."

"I don't think, I _know _I can take you down. And I don't even have to try." His voice grew calmer, but remained serious. "High school doesn't last forever, y'know. It's like childhood. One day you're ten…and the next…" He stared at his hands.

"It seems like your whole life has changed…"

_I can't believe how much I've grown up since I've moved here. _He didn't know whether to scream, cry, or laugh like an insane man. He felt like he had changed so much, maybe _too _much, at too fast a pace.

Whatever happened to the kid who solved all his problems with his fist and never used his head? Was that part of him still in there?

Brooke just blinked. "What're you talking about? I know high school doesn't last forever. I'm not an idiot."

Snapping out of his deep thoughts, he laughed. "Ha! Really? Could've fooled me!"

Her mouth fell open, her face growing red. "How dare you!"

"You don't even get it!" he said again. "I mean, really. You think life is gonna be like this forever?" he asked, spreading his arms around, looking around the classroom. "You think life is just like _high school_? Man, you're gonna have a real wake-up call after this. I wanna be wherever you are to see your face when someone tells you they don't like you. That'll be the best day of my life."

Of course, that last part was a lie, but Brooke didn't know that…He just wanted to burn her.

"Are you asking for me to ruin your life even more than I already have?" she growled, her body tense with undeniable fury. "Because believe me, I can."

"I believe you," he answered, with absolutely no signs of fear on his face. That was Wally, always brave no matter what (he could even swim in _water_). That was a part of him that would never change. He continued, saying, "I mean, you don't have any life of your own, after all. Only makes sense you want to torture those who have one."

It was the biggest verbal slap in the face she had ever received. But before she could scream and fume at him, he turned around and started walking away.

"And don't even think about sending Todd after me, princess. I beat him to a pulp before, and I can do it again."

He sat back down in his desk, and stared at her, defying her. _What're you gonna do now, girlie? _He thought, the furious look on her face giving him a deep satisfaction. Before anything else could happen, the teacher walked in, and sent everyone to their desks.

Wally's sense of satisfaction did not last more than a few mere seconds. He pounded his fist against the desk again, hard but somehow quietly enough not to really be noticed. He clenched his teeth.

_The sorry, sick thing is…_he thought, glancing at Brooke, the only one who did notice him punching the desk in anger and smirking, _is that she knows she's won already. She got what she wanted. Kuki and I are over…_

For the first time in his life, he realized, he had lost a fight. And it didn't even have anything to do with kicking and punching. Brooke had won using his only weakness against him. He was the loser.

All of the fights he had ever won didn't even matter anymore. And the only one that had mattered, Brooke was the one who came out on top.

He felt sick, and raised his hand.

"Can I go to the nurse's office? I don't feel so great."

* * *

Wally wasn't the only guy that was feeling miserable. While Wally was suffering from heartache, Connor was being pounded by giant waves of insufferable guilt.

"This is all my fault!" he said miserably, pounding his head against the book he was holding every three seconds. "All. My. Fault." Bang. Bang. Bang.

"Connor, stop hitting yourself! You're scaring me, you'll bruise yourself…" Delilah said concernedly. "You're torturing yourself enough already. In fact, here…" She took out a bit of powder and brushed some over his forehead, a tip she learned from Brooke. Some habits were hard to break. "There, much better," she said, satisfied, and putting it back into her hobo bag.

"No, not much better," he groaned, but showed his appreciation for her concern by taking her hand. "I still feel terrible. Me and my big mouth! If I hadn't said anything about them going to the dance this never would've happened. If I had never let myself act like Brooke and everyone else then…"

"Things would've been different, I know," Delilah said. "Connor, I feel terrible too. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that I've been living a lie for the past few years…"

"You didn't live a lie, you just lost track of yourself. There's a difference."

"Yeah? How?"

"I dunno…" He groaned, hanging his head. Delilah laughed, and affectionately mussed his hair.

"You don't need to coddle me, dummy," she said. "I know what I did, and now I gotta pay for it. I just don't know how I'm going to tell Brooke…I don't think she'll want to be my friend anymore once I start wearing the clothes _I_ want to wear and doing the things _I _want to do…..

He heard the small sound of sadness in her voice, but couldn't resist scowling. "Who cares? She was terrible to you. Who needs her?"

"I know," she said, smiling slightly at him. "I know that now, but, I mean, I spent years hanging out with her, y'know? Years of following her around, asking her for fashion advice, agreeing with everything she said, treating her like a queen. She was nice, sometimes…"

Connor couldn't recall any times where Brooke was nice, but he shrugged it off. He probably just didn't pay as much attention because of his extreme distaste for the rich brat. He let her reminisce in peace though, as she stared at the floor with a dreamy, bittersweet look on her face. She was obviously a little mournful at the thought of ditching Brooke forever, despite how unhappy she made her feel at times. She had shared so many moments with her, and the question of what could've been floated around her head…

And even though he had done the right thing by telling her how he felt and how terrible Brooke truly was, Connor couldn't help but feel that he had somehow hurt her too.

He looked out the window, into the deep blue wonderful sky above.

_Please, help me…_he prayed with all his might. _Help me fix everything I've done wrong._


	25. The Middle

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 24, Part Two: The Middle

_Stupid nurse with her stupid chart and her stupid thermometer with her stupid stethoscope…_

Wally stomped into the cafeteria fuming, the very last thing on his mind being food. He had told the nurse again and again that he wasn't feeling well, and demanded that he go home. He had screamed _I'm telling ya, I'm sick! My stomach hurts, my head hurts, I feel like I'm gonna die! _so loudly that he was sure the whole school had heard, but no dice. She had just scowled at him, her hairy mole seeming to grow all the more disgusting, glasses glinting in the fluorescent light of the clinic.

"Mr. Beetles, there is absolutely _nothing _wrong with you. Your temperature is fine, your body is free of bruises or lesions of any kind, your eyes are clear, and your nose is snot-free. So go back to class so I can attend to those that are _truly_ sick and need my assistance." She pointed to the door, as if he had forgotten where the exit was, her brow furrowed while she waited for him to leave.

Wally, of course, was not happy about it. It wasn't like he was used to being told no; his parents did that all the time. But it had been a stressful day, and this nurse was the only person keeping him from going home and possibly getting any peace.

"Your assistance, huh?" he barked, without moving an inch towards the door. He wasn't leaving until he was satisfied. "What can you do, Mrs. Fink? You're not even a real nurse! Did you even go to medical school? Let me see your degree!"

The next thing he knew, he was kicked out of the clinic, a pink detention slip in the grip of his hand. He huffed in anger, stuffing the slip into his jean pocket. _I didn't even know nurses had the authority to hand out detentions…_

So, Wally was resigned to go to lunch, despite the fact that he didn't really feel that hungry. Nevertheless, he got in line and threw random lunch selections onto his green plastic tray, grabbing some chocolate milk and a corndog without even looking. Nothing else looked appetizing, though Wally didn't really notice. He handed the cashier some money and went to look for a table.

Out of pure habit, he looked towards the table he always sat at with Kuki. Of course, that was a big mistake. Kuki had gotten her lunch before him, and there she was, a tray in front of her. Ironically, her tray had the exact same things he had, and the milk carton was unopened, the corndog unbitten. Kuki just stared at it, as if the cornbread-covered link of pork was the most interesting thing in the room.

She felt his eyes on her, and looked up, managing to lay her eyes right on him. She jumped, startled to see him staring, and grew tense. She stared straight back. Her eyes at first were wide open in surprise, but they softened, sparkling the way they did whenever she looked at something (or someone) with tender affection. Her pink lips frowned slightly, and he saw her nose sniffle, though only for a moment. Her delicate milk white hands were clasped together on her lap, her thumbs currently stopping from fiddling together as they had been before she caught sight of him.

_Kuki._

He wondered what he looked like to her now, staring at her the way he was. Though he didn't want to seem vulnerable in public, he hoped he looked sorrowful, silently telling her that he didn't let her go because his feelings for her had ceased.

He felt other eyes on them, and a quick glance proved that Brooke and some of her cronies (still missing two members, for some reason) were staring, Brooke smirking, enjoying her view of their insufferable pain. Hating that he let her see them like that, he tore his eyes away from Kuki, unaware that Kuki had done the very same thing at the very same time.

_I guess I'll be sitting somewhere else from now on. _For some reason, that thought sent a particularly sharp stinging feeling to his chest, and he tried to ignore it. Scanning the room, he found an abandoned table towards the other side of the cafeteria. He made his way towards it, glad there was a unoccupied table, and sat. The table was as far away from Kuki as he could get, though it still gave him a good view of her. He had decided that was actually a good thing; breakup or no breakup, he still wanted to watch out for her and make sure no one tried to hurt her, or take her lunch again.

He set his tray down and set his eyes on the food before him. He was a huge fan of both chocolate milk and corndogs, but as he looked at the tray he felt his stomach churn in an unpleasant way, and he pushed the tray away from him slightly, closing his eyes tightly.

_Ugh, my stomach. I don't think I'm going to eat anything. Maybe not for the whole day._

"Uh…You gonna eat that?"

The voice was male and unfamiliar, so he knew it couldn't possibly be one of Brooke or Todd's crew. Slowly he opened his eyes and found standing before him a lanky, reddish-brown haired guy looking at him somewhat anxiously. He was adorned in tan pants, a white shirt under a light blue short-sleeved jacket, a tan hat, and a unique pair of glasses with gray wiring and yellow lenses. His hands were shoved inside his pockets, and was awkwardly rocking back and forth on the heel of his white sneakers. He looked quite nervous.

"Who're you?" Wally asked, not quite friendly but not threatening either. He was certain he had never seen him before.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, guess I should introduce myself, silly me…Ha ha…" the guy chuckled tentatively, wringing his hands nervously. For a mere millisecond Wally couldn't help but think of Kuki and all of her nervous habits. He shook the thought away quickly and forced himself to focus on the present. "Yeah?" he said, not laughing. "What's your name then? Who're you?" He crossed his arms, slightly bothered by the guy's disturbance.

"R-Right, well, my name…Hoagie. Hoagie P. Gilligan." He stuck his hand out, but pulled it back when Wally made no move of offering his.

Hoagie gulped. "I'm new here," he said, sticking his hand back in his pocket. "Our school's districts got changed, so now I have to attend this school instead. And well, I was in here, and I ate already, and I was alone, and I saw you, and you're not eating anything, and I'm still hungry, and I thought maybe…" He couldn't stop himself from talking, and Wally halted him.

"That you could have my corndog?" Wally finished, sizing him up. Hoagie gulped again, and nodded quickly.

"What? You want my milk too? Did you run out of lunch money or something?" he asked, still agitated from the day's events. "What makes you think I'm not hungry, anyway? I just got here; maybe I _want _to eat."

Hoagie felt like he had shrunk. "Okay, okay…T-That's fine, dude. Just askin'…" He started to slowly back up. "I'm leaving…" He felt like running away, but didn't want to seem like too much of a wimp. It was only his first day…

The look on Hoagie's face gave Wally a pang of guilt. Wally was tough and sometimes mean, but he wasn't a bully. He didn't normally attack people when first meeting them like he just did with Hoagie. _This cruddy day is affecting me in more ways than one…_

He sighed. "Wait," he said, freezing Hoagie as he was backing up. "'M'sorry, mate. I'm just…havin' a cruddy day. You can have my corndog, I don't want it. I'm not feeling so great, anyway."

Hoagie seemed to relax a bit at Wally's change of heart, but made no sudden movement. He had dealt with bullies before, and still wasn't sure whether Wally was one or not. Sure, he had looked gentle when he was still with Kuki, but nice guys turned into bullies all the time. Especially in times of extreme pain, sadness, and frustration, which Wally was having all at the same time. Hoagie would take no chances.

"You sure? You're not…Y'know, stick me in a locker or something? Or give me a super wedgie? Because I've been through it all before, and I don't want to go through it again. I still have pains from the last wedgie I got…" he said, patting his flank at the memory of it.

He was surprised to find Wally chuckle. "Really? No wonder you were so guarded." He stopped laughing quickly, his mood still not good enough to chuckle for long. He didn't think it would be for a long time. His lips once again turned to a thin straight line, and he took the corndog by its stick and held it up to him. "Go on. Take it. I promise I won't bite ya."

Hoagie, though tentatively, took the corndog by the stick and took a big chomp out of it. "Thanks." He took yet another risk and added, "Um…Can I sit next to you?"

"What?" asked a startled Wally. "You want to sit next to me? But you're scared of me."

"Dude, I'm scared of _everyone,_" he said, attempting another joke. He received another satisfactory laugh and return, though it was pained, and he saw that Wally was staring across the room at Kuki.

"You're not the only one that's scared of everyone…" he sighed. Hoagie noticed that the second Wally laid eyes on her, all his threatening features softened so much that he didn't even seem that dangerous anymore. He even looked depressed.

Hoagie seized his chance and quickly sat down beside him. Most of his fear was now gone, and he even found himself liking Wally quite a bit. _He seems okay, _he thought. _He's just a regular guy after all, like he looked when he was at the dance. _Though he still didn't put his entire guard down, he felt himself feel more and more calm. There was even something about Wally that made Hoagie feel…for some reason…comfortable. Like he had been friends with him before.

"So, uh, who're you staring at?" Hoagie asked, taking another bite of deep-fried goodness on a stick.

"Huh? What? Oh!" he said, trying to hide his embarassment. "Uh, nobody. No one. Nothing. Nothing important."

"Was it that girl?" he said, pointing at Kuki with the corndog. "The cute Asian one? With the green sweater? Who is she?" he asked innocently, pretending he didn't know her name. "You know her?"

Wally stared. _Do I know her? Do I KNOW HER? I dated her! I love-_

"Yeah, what's it to you?" he snapped, once again losing control of his temper. Noticing Hoagie shudder, he shook his head. "Sorry, sorry! Aw, crud…" He was so fed up with himself and his ever-changing mood. "I'm just not myself…You should go sit with somebody else, I'm a cruddy person to be around right now…" He laid his face against the cool table. He sighed.

"Aw, hey, it's okay," Hoagie said, smiling kindly to him. He almost pat his shoulder, but stopped. He suddenly wanted to be good friends with him, but felt they weren't on that buddy-buddy level yet. "I get it. Bad days suck."

Wally laughed darkly. "Tell me about it."

"So…Who is she?"

Hoagie watched him take another look at Kuki, his fingers suddenly gripping the end of the table. "Kuki Sanban," he said, his voice full of emotion. "She was my…my girlfriend. But…"

His eyes suddenly left her. "…Not anymore."

Hoagie's stick was suddenly clean of corndog, and now Hoagie was just chewing on it, listening and watching Wally thoughtfully and intently. He suddenly felt a great pity for Wally. Even after only knowing him for a small while, he felt like he could read his face like a book, and the pain in Wally was clearly evident with every action he made.

"Oh…Wow, I'm sorry," Hoagie said sincerely, putting the stick on the table. "I've never really had a serious girlfriend. Must be rough."

"You have no idea."

"Well…Why don't you tell me about it? It might, I dunno, make you feel better."

Wally suddenly turned to him. "It's a long story. And anyways, no offense," he said, catching himself before he could make himself sound rude again, "why would you care? You don't even know my name."

"Oh! Well…" How could he explain himself without revealing too much? "I, well…I've heard a lot about you. Wally Beetles, right? I haven't heard anything really specific, but I could tell it was you from descriptions. And well, I heard you had broken up with someone…I thought maybe you could use someone to talk to. And I could use a friend. And as a bonus, I wanted your corndog. So, here I am."

He just stared. "Did you hear…anything else?"

"Does it matter?" Hoagie asked earnestly.

He sighed. "No…I guess not. What's done is done, I guess."

"And even if I heard anything really terrible about you," Hoagie said, his voice lower and serious, "then do you think I'd really be talking to you right now if I believed it?"

"Depends on what you believe," Wally snorted.

"Well, as long as you promise not to beat me to dust, why don't you tell me your side of the story?" He gave him a long stare. "Because, to tell you the truth, listening to your story sounds a lot more exciting than spending lunch alone in the computer lab."

"You like long stories?" Wally asked, looking at Hoagie. Hoagie knew Wally was ready to reveal everything. He almost looked like he was waiting all day to open himself up to someone.

"Love em'."

* * *

_Why did he stare? Why did he look at me like that? He look so…so…heartbroken. Just like me. But…Ugh, my head hurts so much…_

She didn't want to eat. She didn't want a drink. All she wanted was to go to wherever Wally sat and just talk to him. All she wanted was to ask him how he was feeling, what he was thinking. She just wanted to turn back the clock and fix everything.

"Hey girl! I was hopin' I would see you soon."

Immediately Kuki's head whipped around.

"It's you!" she yelled, gasping. "The girl! The one who helped me up!"

The angel that had helped Kuki before chuckled, a familiar smile spreading over her dark face. She flipped her long, black braid over her shoulder and tipped her red cap to her. "That's me, Abigail Lincoln," she said, surprising Kuki by taking a seat right next to her. "But you can call me Abby; I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. "

"O-Oh, t-that's okay," Kuki said, slowly retreating back into her protective shell, the one Abby had detected already. "I'm Kuki. Kuki Sanban."

"I know. Word about you has been travelin' 'round fast lately. Seems you're pretty mistreated around here. From what I've heard…" She gave Kuki a strong look of compassion. "People treat you like you're not even human."

"I…I…D-Do I know you?" She didn't mean for it to come out so rude. She was just so perplexed at how much this Abigail Lincoln seemed to know about her. She seemed so, so familiar, and yet Kuki knew she had never met her.

_At least, from what I can remember I've never met her…_ Sometimes Kuki suspected the memories she lost held more secrets than she suspected.

"I dunno; I don't think so…But you seem familiar to Abby…"

"R-Really?" Kuki gasped again. "You seem familiar too! But…How?"

"Who knows, maybe we're crazy," Abby joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "Everyone here seems to be, after all. But I'm not here to investigate on that quite yet, baby. I came over here to talk."

"T-T-Talk?"

"You. Him." She pointed at her and then to Wally. "Talk to me Kuki. What's on your mind?"

Kuki blinked. "What? What're you talking about? What do you want to know?" Sweat started to build in her brow.

"You know what I want to know. Listen, I know I'm takin' this friendship kinda fast…"

_Friendship? _Kuki almost jumped at the word. _I don't hear that word often._

"But Abby knows that if _she _just went through a major breakup with a guy she loved…" A flash of Hoagie went through Abby's mind. "…She'd wanna tell someone about it. So, here I am. Talk to me girl."

"You…Want to hear about my problems?"

Abby nodded. Kuki swiveled her head to the left, right, left again.

"T-That's so sweet of you, b-but…L-Listen, what you heard was probably right…I-I'm the student body's punching bag. No one here likes me. Y-You're new here, I want you to like it here…Hanging out with me…"

Kuki paused. Wasn't she doing exactly what Wally hadn't wanted her to do? He had told her she needed to stop doubting herself. Automatically her hand reached inside her pocket, and she had found the much-bent corner of Wally's letter, and she once again gripped it.

She had lost Wally for doing things like what she was doing. And any possible friends she could have, she also didn't want to lose.

"No…Never mind what I said," Kuki finally said. "Y-Yes…I would love…For someone to talk to. Will you?"

Abby smiled warmly in a way that made Kuki grin, and she took a sip of the soda she had managed to slip into school.

"Whattaya think I'm here for, baby?"

Kuki smiled some more, but it vanished once she tried to find a place to begin.

"How about when you met him?" Abby suggested. "That's a good start. I want the whole story."

"Well, okay…Let's see…It was right at the beginning of the year…" Kuki spent some time reminiscing, and couldn't help but grin to herself again. "It had only been maybe a few days, or a week, when Wally came. When you're someone like me…Someone as nervous and shy as me, everyone scares you. Wally was definitely no exception…While most girls were gawking at his muscle, I was freaking out over whether he would punch me in the face…" She laughed. "It was scary now, but knowing who he is now, it's just funny."

Abby smiled too and said nothing. She had wanted to hear this story so badly, and become friends with this lonely, vaguely familiar girl. And if remembering what was then made the poor girl happy, then she would listen for as long as needed. Abby had always felt like a nurturer. She was similar to Kuki like that in a huge way; they both wanted to help those in need.

And Kuki looked so _so _delighted, remembering the times she shared with the boy she loved so intensely. The sparkle in her eyes was intoxicating. Abby glanced over at Hoagie, who looked like he had gotten his mission accomplished. He, too, was listening to Wally talking about something, and the way the Australian kept glancing at the beautiful Asian girl next to her, she felt she knew what it was about.

* * *

"You _stalked _her? To her little hang-out…thingy?"

"I didn't _stalk,_" Wally protested, hoping he didn't now seem perverted. "I was _curious. _She had been weird around me all day, and I wanted to see what she was up to."

"So you stalked her."

"_I didn't stalk her!"_

He shrunk back in his chair at the looks of all the staring faces. "Me and my big mouth…"

* * *

"So after all those popular morons messed up your hangout, you two fixed it together?"

Blushing, Kuki nodded. "Yeah. He could see how upset I was, so he offered to help me fix it up. And we had gotten jobs at a pizza place together, owned by a nice guy named Mr. Melloni, and we went to the arcade and played games afterward, and took pictures…" Her eyes went to a faraway place.

"He hugged me goodbye, too…"

Abby leaned her face against her fist. "Yeah? How was that."

"Soft…Warm. And then he almost tripped over a pebble."

* * *

"We got really chummy after hanging out at the arcade and getting jobs together," Wally continued, occasionally taking a drink of milk. He didn't usually talk for such long lengths of time, and need to re-quench himself. "I sat with her at lunch everyday, partnered up with her during projects or something, joked around with her during work breaks. We hung out together pretty much all the time. We were all we really had."

"When did you start liking her?"

Wally stared at Hoagie, as if he were expecting him to know the answer. It would've been great if Hoagie did know, because Wally sure didn't. He told him so.

"I don't know. I just kind of realized it one day. It was after Mr. Melloni had tricked us into going on a date. Without us even knowing it. Tricky bloke…"

"What?"

* * *

"Excuse me? What did Mr. Pepperoni do?" Abby asked in disbelief.

Kuki laughed sheepishly, her cheeks reddening at the sudden outburst. She had gotten enough attention today, occasionally finding Brooke staring at her with a smug little smirk (though without Delilah, whom Kuki noticed, seemed to be absent).

"It's actually Mr. Melloni," she corrected her gently. "He set us up on a date. Ever since he convinced two of his workers to date, they eventually married and he thinks he's an expert on romance. He must be too…He was right about us…." She shook her head. "Anyways, we were supposed to come into work in the evening, but Mr. Melloni had lied and actually told us that he needed us to 'try a new dish.' It was just a ploy to get us to sit and eat together. There were candles, with no other source of lighting, and soft music…It was really awkward. We agreed to do it anyway, even after we figured out what he was up to. We knew he meant well, and we didn't have the heart to leave. So we sat, and we ate, and…I apologized, because it was me who suggested we ask Mr. Melloni for jobs, and he was my friend. But he wasn't angry, and things were really, well…We were both so embarrassed. But we got to talking, and he said really sweet things, things no one had ever really said to me before. I realized just how special and different he was from everyone else, and how much he had done for me that no one else wouldn't have done, and then…"

"Then what?" Abby was enjoying the story immensely. The fact that it actually happened made it all the more satisfying.

She stared off into space. "And then I fell in love with him."

* * *

"It's funny how moms know so much more about you than you do," Hoagie commented, thinking of a few times where his own mother pointed out things to him that he hadn't known.

"It ain't funny, it's weird!" Wally argued. "I don't want my mom knowing how I feel when I don't even know myself! I like to keep my feelings a secret! It's like she can read a part of my head that I can't…" he explained, sounding somewhat paranoid.

Hoagie laughed. "Geeze, you make it sound like she's a mind reader."

"She is! Anyway," he said, changing back to the original subject, "After I figured out my mum was right and I really did…y'know…_like her_," he said hesitantly, blushing. He _had _said he liked to keep his feelings a secret…_Though, _he admitted to himself, _I haven't really been keeping my feelings that secretive this year…_

"Yeah?" Hoagie said, trying to move him forward. Reminiscing had made Wally pause a lot, and made Hoagie feel uncomfortable and anxious to hear more.

"Well, it kinda changed things, obviously. I started acting weird, and I wasn't so sure how to act around her anymore. All I wanted to do was, I dunno…Be with her, I guess. But I didn't want to be with her either, because I was all nervous about being stupid around her, I was actually self-conscious about it…And I just couldn't get her outta my _head_, and every time we were together my face would get all hot and my hands would sweat and I was just so stupid. I felt like a cruddy _moron!_"

"When did you finally confess how you felt about her?" Hoagie asked.

Wally's fist clenched.

* * *

"They had invited me to Brooke's party and gave me an invitation. They even wrote a note and forged Wally's handwriting, and it said that he would be there. It said he wanted me to go to Brooke's party despite my doubts, because he had something he really wanted to tell me. And…"

"You were hopin' he was gonna tell you he liked you?" Abby asked in a soft, pitying voice. It was hard to ignore the sudden ball of fire settling in her stomach. _I despise Brooke and her friends already._

"I thought it wasn't likely, but yes. I've always been sort of a dreamer," Kuki answered. "Despite how black everything is, I always manage to keep at least a little hope that everything will be okay…Though it's very small. It's never enough hope to make me happ or cheerful. But yes, I thought maybe he felt the same way. But I soon found out it was all a horrible, horrible, horrible…trick."

"What happened?" Even though Abby knew whatever had occurred was over and done with, she couldn't help but feel alarmed and worried.

"I was a idiot, a big fat idiot…For believing what Brooke and the others had lied about…" her voice cracked. "I can't believe I actually fell for their fake story. I had gotten all excited, thinking maybe I was finally about to be accepted. That maybe now that Wally was my friend, that everything was going to be okay and I wouldn't be bullied anymore. So like a moron, I went to the party. I even put on a nice sweater and skirt on to look nice. I went to the party, and…well, at first some people stared at me and even made fun of me. One guy especially intimidated me, and before I could leave, Brooke came to my aid and got him to leave me alone.

"She seemed truly happy to see me, and she took me to her friends, who seemed happy to see me too. Well, I hadn't been able to find Wally, but there were so many people there…I thought I just couldn't find him. I told Brooke and the others my worries. I…." Kuki gulped. The memories of it were so painful.

"I should've known it was all a cruel trick."

* * *

"I had left school already," Wally told Hoagie, his voice dark and angry, confusing Hoagie. The sudden escalation of anger from Wally was startling, and he had no idea what it was for. "I had to help my Mum with some stuff, and once we had finished I had decided to settle on the couch and watch some wrestling. Of course, I thought about Kuki the whole time…But that ain't the point!" he said, shaking his head to keep himself from revealing anything too embarrassing. "The thing is, I had planned on spending the night in, see. But Mum had needed some groceries, so she asked me to get em'. At that point I was agitated that I had to leave the television, because the wrestling match was gettin' good, but she used mom guilt on me and…"

"I hate that," Hoagie added. "My mom uses it on me all the time. Did she say stuff like how she was getting old and that you would miss her when she was gone?"

"No, she used the whole I-gave-you-the-gift-of-life-so-you-owe-me thing."

Hoagie nodded. "I've heard that one too."

"Anyways, I agreed to go, and it was getting dark, and I wanted to get back to the TV, so I left quickly. I ran into these two teens, a guy and a girl. They were drunk, and I asked em' if they were okay, if they needed any help. But they were well, ya know, _drunk, _so they really didn't understand what was going on. But they were from my school, and they knew who I was. They recognized me as the weird guy that hung out with Kuki. They told me she was at the party that they had gotten drunk from. Once I heard this, I went on red alert. I seriously thought I was gonna explode from worry. I practically threatened to kill em' if they didn't tell me where she was. I didn't care how she had gotten there and why, but they told me everything. It was at Brooke's house. They said that she and her gang were makin' her cry, makin' her suffer…"

"As soon as I heard this, I ran. I ran as fast as I could. I was so scared they were hurting her, so scared of what they were gonna do to her. I thought of nothing else. I ran faster than I had ever ran before, I was so terrified. I knew she needed me, I knew I had to save her. I had never been so afraid in my entire life…" His eyelids lowered.

"And I don't get scared very easily."

* * *

"They pretended to look for him, and acted as if they were concerned about me. They could tell how nervous I was getting, how afraid I was that Wally couldn't be found, thinking it was all a mistake. I asked them, _begged them,_ to tell me if they had found him. Of course…"

"He wasn't there in the first place," Abby finished for her, eyes downcast. "You poor thing…"

Kuki nodded. "He wasn't there…They asked to see the note for some reason, just so I would believe in their little pretend game even more…And then…then…"

* * *

"I stormed into the house like a crazy bull or something," Wally described to Hoagie, trying to give him a mental picture of just how crazy things had been that night. "I pushed and pulled people outta my way without giving em' a second glance. All I cared about was finding Kuki and getting her outta there. I screamed her name as loud as I could. I grabbed some random guy who was shakin' in his boots and demanded he tell me where she was. I practically screamed in his face to tell me. He pointed in her direction, and I couldn't believe it. I saw her, and people were circled around her, pushing her and pulling her, calling her names like 'bitch' and 'outcast' and 'loser'…"

His fists clenched together even harder then they already were. His knuckles were milk white from the pressure. Hoagie just continued to listen, not sure how to comfort the Aussie. He was on good terms with Wally, and didn't want to risk ruining that by patting his shoulder or something. Some guys were embarrassed by that. However, he couldn't help but glance at Wally's pale knuckles every so often, just to make sure they were still intact…

"She was cryin' her heart out there. They had abused her so much she even started believing what they were saying. She started shouting to em' that they were right, they were right…And that was before I had even found her. I had only heard her, but I couldn't find her until the guy pointed in her direction because there was so much noise in that cruddy house."

"Anyways, she looked terrible. Her eyes were all red and swollen from tears, her nice clothes were all dirty, her hair a mess…But I remember feeling so happy that I had finally found her, still in one piece. I ran to her as soon as I caught sight of her. She yelled out my name and got up from the ground where they had shoved her, and seconds later I was holding her, and I was so relieved that she was safe with me. I told myself that there was no way I was going to let her go."

* * *

"I think my heart jumped out of my chest when I first heard Wally calling my name. I couldn't believe it. I _didn't _believe it at first, I thought it was in my imagination. But his voice grew closer and closer that I was sure he was there, and I finally saw him…He was clutching this guy's shirt pulling him towards his face. Wally looked so angry, his face was so red from his fury of it all. I remember thinking, _He's angry for me, he's angry all because of me! Me! He's come to save me!_ But when he finally saw me, his face completely changed from one of pure anger to one of relief. He shouted my name again and came rushing towards me, and before I knew it I had jumped up from where everyone had pushed me down and ran into his arms, sobbing."

"But by the time he embraced me, his arms around me tightly, I knew I was safe. He laid his head on top of mine and murmured my name, and I was crying so hard, but it was so wonderful all at the same time. By the time I had gotten to him, I knew I was safe."

Back with Wally…

"Well, as you could guess, Brooke wasn't too happy that I had destroyed her little torture-fest, but I was just fine with it. She was screamin' her head off, telling me I had come to her little shindig uninvited and that I needed to leave. 'Course, I told her that was just fine with me, and I was gonna go, but not without Kuki."

"I'm guessing she wasn't okay with that?" Hoagie asked, arms crossed. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Hoagie had seen Brooke countless times that day (it was hard _not_ to see the gorgeous blonde strutting around like she owned the place), and didn't think that someone so angelic-looking and petite could hide such a hideous monster on the inside. He told himself that he shouldn't have been surprised; first impressions were often wrong.

Wally laughed. "What do you think? She was furious! And once I told her I wasn't going to let anyone touch her, Brooke's idiot boyfriend Todd…" He paused to point at said boyfriend over at Brooke's table, who was watching both his and Kuki's table smugly, "tried to tug her away from me."

"So what did you do?"

"What any noble guy would do," Wally answered matter-of-factly. "I punched him in the face. And while I wasn't scared to take on everyone there, I knew Kuki was fragile at the moment, so we hightailed it outta ther before anyone else could hurt her. We ran as fast and as far away as we could, until we were safe."

"And that's when you told her you loved her and kissed her, right?" Hoagie guessed, sure of his answer. Wally's eyes popped, but not before his face flushed a bright fire-engine red.

"What the..? How'd you know?"

"Dude, I'm a certified genius," he answered. "I know how to fix and operate commercial airplanes and do my trigonometry homework at the same time. It wasn't that hard to figure out."

"You're _that _smart? You're helping me with my homework later."

"So we're friends?" Hoagie asked, smiling.

Wally frowned, still red in the face, and Hoagie then knew it was true. They were friends.

But even though Wally knew that _he _knew they were friends, he still kept up his tough act by crossing his arms and saying one of his favorite phrases:

"Don't press your luck."

Hoagie just laughed.

* * *

"Ooh, this is getting good, girl!" Abby exclaimed, trying not to seem to much like an overenthusiastic girly girl. She checked her watch on her wrist. "Okay, we got a few minutes left. That's enough time for you to tell me what happened after you guys ran away. You can tell me the rest later. So what happened?"

Kuki couldn't help but smile. Abigail Lincoln really was an angel that had come to her rescue. Her heart was still broken in tiny little fragments, but she had thought she would never have someone lend an ear to her again. She had been truly wrong.

"Well, he had pulled me behind a tree so we couldn't be seen by anyone who might've tried to follow us. The second we stopped running, I just started crying all over again. I should've been happy that my knight in shining armor had come to rescue me, but what Brooke and her friends had done to me at that party were one of the cruelest things they had ever done. Not only that, but Wally had seen the whole thing. I was so ashamed; I hated myself, hated myself so much that I just wanted to crawl in a hole somewhere and never return. I had believed everything they had shouted at me: that I was a worthless, trashy, hated outcast that no one would ever care about, and wasn't good for anything. I believed it when they said I didn't deserve anything I had, especially Wally."

"I'll bet Wally didn't agree with that," Abby said, smiling. She hadn't spoken to Wally yet, but from Kuki's descriptions and stories of him, she felt like she had known him already. First impressions, as Hoagie had earlier thought, were indeed wrong; but Abby had a talent for them. She thought he was the kind of guy that didn't accept what others thought. She took it that he was the kind of guy that stuck by his own opinion, and didn't care what others believed. What Kuki said next proved her right.

"No, he didn't." She smiled dreamily, one of the worst yet best nights of her life replaying in her mind. "He didn't; in fact, he told me the opposite of everything they had ever said. He told me that I was smart, and talented, and had a heart of gold…Told me I was anything but useless. He told me I was special, different from everyone else…But in a good way, not in the way everyone else made it to be. He even said I was brave, something I certainly didn't believe. But the thing about Wally…"

She took a personal dare and looked at Wally. He was chatting animatedly to a hazelnut-haired boy in yellow-tinted glasses and blue jacket. She was glad that he had found a friend, but couldn't help that wish she was in his place. Maybe one day, he and Wally and Abby, along with herself, could…?

No. No, Wally said he didn't think they could ever be friends. There was no hope.

"…He's good at convincing people they're something they thought they weren't. That night…He made me believe I was all those things. It was a short-lived feeling, but the fact that he made me feel that way…was incredible all on it's own. He always makes me feel that way. And while he was caught up in all the drama and romance of it all…He told me he loved me."

Her voice cracked, like opening the pages of an ancient, worn-out book with yellow stained pages. It was painful, in a way that only the heartbroken could feel; it was a feeling the whole-hearted could only imagine having.

"The first time he said it, I wasn't sure what I heard. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me," she said, and attempted a laugh, when all that came out was a faker-than-fake chuckle. "I even asked him 'What?' to see what he'd say. He realized he accidentally said it and said it was nothing."

Abby made a painful noise, breathing in through her teeth. "Ooh, that's never good."

"Yeah, it was terrible. My hopes had risen and then were crushed…until he decided to try again and say it. It was like music to my ears. 'I love you,' he said. He said he'd never hurt me, that he'd protect me, that he thought I was wonderful…Sorry, am I sounding arrogant right now? Oh, I'll bet I sound arrogant, I'm just saying what he-"

"Girl, it's fine," Abby assured her, noticing the alarmed look on her face. "Really, I know you aren't arrogant. You're just takin' a trip down memory lane. Its fine, calm down. You really don't know how to deal with a lot of people, do you?"

"No…" She stared at her hands, now ashamed. That was when Abby realized just how much everything she heard had happened to Kuki damaged the girl. Abby had managed to take down the protective wall Kuki built around herself, but that wall had always done a poor job; the very thing it was protecting was damaged from abuse despite its protection.

Abby also wasn't quite sure what to do or what to say. She felt like she should console the girl, but wasn't sure if Kuki even wanted any pity. Right when she opened her mouth to say something, _anything_, Kuki saved her by speaking up again.

"He gave me my first kiss that night. My very first."

Her eyes were glassy, though no other sign of oncoming tears showed. "He turned the worst night of my life into the best night of my life. He turned this year, this horrible, horrible life of mine…" She closed her eyes, she didn't want to see Abby. "Into a life worth being happy for."

_Crack. _Abby's heart broke. Never, ever had she seen someone, who was supposedly an average middle-class citizen, so miserable. It made Hoagie's grandmother, someone Abby met when she visited Hoagie one day, seem like the happiest person on Earth.

"And now he doesn't even want to be friends with me anymore…"

Kuki gasped when she felt arms hug her in a tight, warm embrace. "Now, now, the world isn't ending yet, girl," Abby said, finally consoling her in her usual nurturing self. "Don't get yourself all worked up over this one guy. It'll be alright."

Rubbing her eyes, Kuki let herself lean against her. "But he isn't just a guy. And I don't mean that in a hopelessly in love kind of way…"

Abby gave her a look that said, _Oh come on! _and Kuki gave in. "Oh, okay! Maybe I do mean it in that way, b-but, don't you understand? You listened to my story. He was the first person who was ever really kind to me, who didn't look at me the way everyone else did."

"What about Mr. Melloni? I thought you said he had always been nice to you?"

"Well, yes, but he's got a family to take care of, and taking care of the restaurant, and he's not my age. We don't do the same things. Wally and I, we're so different, yet so alike. His personality is completely different from mine, but we always had stuff in common, we always had so much fun together. And Wally was the first to ever stand up for me, _ever. _He's the first person that ever really took the time to get to know me. And he's so _good_, Abby…"

Abby smiled since Kuki called her by name, then glanced at Hoagie and Wally's table. Hoagie was laughing good-heartedly about something in his usual jolly manner, and soon Wally was joining along, but not before glancing another look at the girl sitting next to her. She found herself smiling again. _Looks like Hoagie ain't afraid of the big bad Australian anymore. _She felt a small weight lift off her shoulders, realizing she was relieved that Wally _hadn't _done anything to her friend. After all, Wally was a bulky kid, and had looked very threatening that morning. Abby was right to think that Wally wasn't as bad as he seemed.

"…He's really tough, and he can seem somewhat…_hazardous_ at times, but underneath that tough exterior is a really good heart. He does everything he can for those he cares about. He's the bravest guy I've ever known. He isn't afraid to take risks, or throw a punch, something I could never do. And so confident! He believes in himself and knows that he can do whatever he wants if he really tries. And he believes that same thing for everyone else too! He doesn't care what everyone else thinks, he does what he wants to do when he wants to do it. He yells and fights and likes trouble, and at the same time he loves and protects those who really matter to the fullest, lives his life the way he wants to, and lets himself be who he wants to be. He's my exact opposite, and yet he isn't."

Abby let go of Kuki, re-adjusted her hat, and stood up. "Well," she said, dusting herself off, and glancing at the clock. "Well."

"W-Well what? I'm sorry, I got carried away again…"

She laughed. "Just relax, huh? It's fine, it's fine. Really adorable, actually, hearing your story an' all. But Kuki, you know you've got it _bad, _right? And I don't mean it in like an obsessed stalker kind of way, but you've got it really, really bad. And I can't read Aussie-boy's mind over there," she said, nodding in Wally's direction, "and I don't know him all that well, but do you know how many times he looked over here at you during lunch? A lot, as in maybe about every five minutes or so. And if you really want him back, I'd say you shouldn't let this go, not yet. Not now. And I'm telling you this as your new friend, not your advisor or guidance counselor or anything. From everything you've told me, and what I've heard from other people, it's time for you to start getting in action. I still don't know why you two broke up-"

"I-" she started, but Abby made a stop signal with her hand.

"And I plan on finding out later, but not now, 'cause the bell's gonna ring in about ten seconds. All I know is you two went to a dance, something bad went down, and now for some reason the two of you are letting all those popular jerks win. Now all that's left are two sad souls wishing whatever happened didn't. But the hard truth is, it did happen. So all you gotta do now is fix it. It'll take work, and patience, but if this love you two have is as strong as you say it is, you'll be fine."

"But-" Kuki protested.

The bell rang obnoxiously before she could say more. _Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnng! _

"After all," Abby concluded, walking out of the cafeteria. "You _do _want happiness, right? And you're the only one who can get it for yourself. So, go and get it."


	26. The Beginning

_Finding Happiness_

Chapter 24, Part 3: The Beginning

Kuki Sanban had no idea what to do. She just stared after Abby like a lost puppy whose owner just shouted at her to go away forever.

Once again, a war started to brew inside her head. One part of her knew Abby was absolutely right: she was the only one who could bring herself the happiness she craved, and that even though she messed up, she still deserved to be with him just as long as she really and truly tried to not let others control her world. The other half, however, still doubted and mistrusted her optimism. Why would anyone want to get back together with someone who was constantly fragile, anxious, and unconfident? Who wouldn't get tired of someone who constantly yearned the company of the same person? Who wouldn't leave a girl who always gave up when it seemed to be the easiest solution and ran away from her problems?

Why would she deserve a second chance?

Maybe if she just spoke to him one last time…_Maybe if I did, then I would understand what would be best for Wally._

That was Kuki's problem: always thinking of others, and never what was best for her. And her second flaw in her reasoning would soon be evident.

In the midst of her feeling lost without her new friend, Abby, by her side, she saw Wally in the corner of her eye. There was only one exit out of the cafeteria, one that sent every single student herding out of the same place. She had totally forgotten that she had planned to get away before she could run into him. He was headed right her way, the goggled boy striding next to him. Her brain went into high alert. _What should I do? I'm not ready to talk to him yet, I have to think of what to say first…!_

Wally, too, was in panic mode. "Crud, there she is!" he whispered urgently to Hoagie. "She's lookin' straight at me, and isn't moving! You think she wants to talk to me?"

"Maybe," Hoagie said. "And why not? I saw you break up with her. No offense, but what you said to her was kind of cold."

"You saw me break up with her? Then you knew-! But…You asked me all those questions about 'er, and if she was my girlfriend, but you knew! Why I oughta-!" he threatened, then caught himself once he saw the tense look on Hoagie's face. Normally, Wally would have cared that someone had lied to him and maybe even throttle him, but…Well, Wally was really a softie on the inside when it came to some people, and he had to admit…He liked Hoagie, and they had just established earlier that they were now friends.

"Sorry, mate, never mind. I'm just…Ugh." He hung his head in shame.

Hoagie sighed in relief. He was glad he was right after all about Wally being a good guy. "It's okay. Just keep walking and see what happens."

"What if she talks to me?"

"Talk back then, come on!" he advised him. "You still love her, don't you? And you two kept staring at each other all throughout lunch. Trust me, lunch time is a period I never forget. Her eye were all on you. Why are you giving up on her anyway?"

"Because it's what's best for the both of us!" Wally argued stubbornly. Now the two weren't even walking. They were still far away enough from Kuki that she couldn't hear them, but still in view. (Kuki was still panicking at the moment and didn't notice them stop.)

"How do you know?"

"Because she needs to learn to love herself before she can love anyone else. She's more important than I am, it's selfish of me to have her put me first before herself!"

Hoagie's face went blank. "Well, that's…" He had to word it carefully. "…a really foolish thing to believe. I mean, don't get me wrong, you're not an idiot," he assured him. "But that's just stupid."

"What're you talking about? It's true!" Wally argued.

"Wally, I may not have a lot of experience with romance, and I've never been treated as terribly as Kuki over there has," he said, nodding in her direction, "but I know what it's like to dislike yourself. Everyone dislikes something about themselves, it's a fact of life. And you know why?"

"No."

"It's easier to love someone else than it is to love yourself. I mean, think about it: you have to live with yourself your whole life. You know every mistake you've made, every lie you've told, every doubt you have. With everyone else, you don't, so it always seems like they're better than you. Confidence can be a really hard thing to come by, Wally. And besides, wouldn't you say you love Kuki more than you love _yourself? _I mean, think about it: if someone tried to shoot Kuki with a gun, wouldn't you take the bullet for her? Wouldn't you rather have her live than yourself?"

The truth of Hoagie's words hit him like a ton of bricks. "Well, yeah…But…"

"But what?" he asked, thinking he had already won.

"I…can't…help her."

"What do you mean?"

"No matter what I did to help her with her problems, I couldn't fix them. So even if you're right…I'm still not good enough. I can't help her, so what good am I?"

"I'll bet you've helped her more than you think," Hoagie answered, patting him on the back. He looked at his watch, and realized he had better leave them alone so they could talk without being late. "Hey, I gotta go, but I'll see you later, alright?"

"What? You're gonna leave me here? But she wants to talk to me! You're gonna leave me alone?"

"Yep! So get to it, buddy!" he said happily, smiling. "And if it helps you at all, here's a piece of advice that I've always believed in: there is nothing in this world that can't be fixed."

And with that he blended in with the rest of the large herd of teens leaving the room.

"Good load of help that gives me!" Wally shouted after him. What was he to do now?

The two of them thought of what to do next before the last few teens trickled out of the room.

Kuki reached to a decision before Wally did. She still didn't know what she wanted, or what the answer was to their relationship, but she decided there was one thing she had to do before it was too late:

Thank him for everything he had done for her.

Telling Abby about everything that she and Wally had done together made her realize just how much Wally had affected her in her life. She had so much to thank him for; for all the moments they shared, for all the kindness he showed her…

Time for her had been running out; she didn't know if she would ever have another opportunity to approach him (which was too depressing a thought for her to dwell upon). If she wanted to speak to him at least one more time to thank him, the time was right there, at that very moment.

She seized it. She didn't know if she had run to him, walked, jumped, or however she had gotten to him so quickly. After she had made her uncharacteristically bold decision, the next thing she knew was that her arms were wrapped around him tightly, her head buried into his shoulder. She was almost as surprised as he was at the sudden embrace.

It was as if Wally had been struck with a freeze-ray gun. Every once of himself froze, as if he had never touched Kuki in his entire life and contact with her was unfamiliar to him. His hands and arms hung limply to his sides, his face a look of utter helplessness. He wanted to push her away, wanted to run from her…But couldn't bring himself to do it. He still wanted her too badly to even consider denying her a hug, even if it was a half-received hug, as he couldn't bring himself to embrace her back. _If I hugged her, I don't think I could let go._

A million guesses of what she would say entered his thoughts. Different forms of apologies, sappy proclamations of love, and pleas for forgiveness were his main guesses. What she said, however, caught him by surprise.

"Thank you, Wally…Thank you, thank you, thank you," she whispered softly, her face still deep in his shoulder.

He panicked at the meaning of the words. _Is she thanking me for breaking up with her?_ he thought, the mere idea of it searing his heart more than he could imagine. He knew it was cruel of him for wanting her to be as broken up as he was about the end of their relationship, but couldn't help it. He still wanted her to love him as much as he did her, despite everything.

"You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, Wally. I've told you that before, and I still mean it. I'll always mean it. I will never meet anyone who has made a bigger impact in my life than you have. You gave me a taste of it's like to be truly happy and loved, and showed me what I had to do in order to get it. You were so kind to me, and you made me feel special in a way that no one else ever will make me feel. You were my first friend, my first kiss, my first dance partner, my first everything- and I'll never forget you…Never…Never _ever…"_

The shoulder of Wally's hoodie grew damp from her tears, and he felt his own eyes grow wet. _Kuki, you're killing me here…_ His heart seemed to crack and melt at the same time, sending him into a frenzy of emotions he felt like he couldn't take anymore. He wished he had the courage to talk, to touch her, but he couldn't. _Coward, _he scolded himself. _Bloody stupid coward…Kuki, I'm beggin' ya, let me go…_ He knew though, that at the same time, he didn't want her to. _For all I know, this might be the last time she ever hugs me, or talk to me…Kooks, you're killing me on the inside…_

Kuki was disappointed that he didn't say anything, or didn't touch her. She longed for his embrace, wished for the touch of his arms around her where they should be. They both had forgotten just how perfectly they fit each other. They were puzzle pieces, put together for a purpose: to complete a long-sought out picture of brilliance.

She could feel Wally's discomfort at her embrace, yet decided to let herself be selfish. She was always thinking of others; what harm would it be to be selfish for only this once? Besides, the hug hurt her just as much as it was hurting him. It was a terrible reminder of what she was afraid she would never be able to have again.

She lifted her face up just so she could look into his eyes one last time, but he wouldn't let her. He looked away, one of the hardest things he had to do in order to keep himself from breaking down. He knew if he obliged, he wouldn't be able to escape the trap of her violet irises. He wouldn't let the L word fool him into making any more mistakes.

_In fact, I think I'll even give up on that word. Then Kuki will be the only one I've ever liked, _he thought, refusing to even think of the four-letter L word. _And the only one that ever hurt me._

Suddenly he felt something soft touch his face, barely an inch away from the corner of his mouth. Kuki kissed him there. It only lasted a second, but it felt like forever. The moment Kuki withdrew her lips, her arms released him as well. The kiss branded him, the skin prickling hot from such a gentle touch. His hand flew to the spot, as if that would somehow stop the burning sensation, when he knew the only remedy would be if Kuki's lips touched it again. He refused to let his desire for her touch succumb him, however. He would not touch her.

"Goodbye, Wally," Kuki's voice cracked. She immediately thought herself foolish. She knew she would see him again; they had classes together. It was inevitable. Yet, that was not the kind of goodbye she had meant. She was saying goodbye to them, together.

"And thank you for the letter," Kuki said, remembering her valued possession in her pocket and taking it out of her pocket. "I'll treasure it forever, Wally. Always…"She emphasized her point by kissing it, tears falling to the ground and breaking onto the floor like so many crystals.

He froze. _The letter…The letter…The letter! _he suddenly remembered. The one he had written for her to read when she was alone and depressed. _She read the letter! The one I worked so hard on! The one I…_

…_.The one I wrote telling her I'd always be there for her even if we broke up. The one telling her she'd never be alone again. That she would always have me. I promised her that…._

He moaned, and the dam in his eyes let the tears lose, his face scowling from inner turmoil.

…_And it's a promise I can't keep anymore._

He watched her turn away, trying not to notice her arm wiping her face. He would not succumb to her sadness. He would not succumb to his own grief. He would not succumb to his broken promise. He would not succumb.

Period.

* * *

The school day was as long as it was torturous for Kuki. Her classes, even her beloved art class, seemed to all of a sudden have no meaning to her. She would begin to draw in art, trying to distract herself, and find her eyes gradually drooping, turning her art into nothing but scribbles and ghost marks. Her mind was filled with all different types of questions: what if's, what now's, what was right, what was wrong, what did and didn't she deserve…All of them without an answer.

Including questions from her teachers. Kuki was usually the one in class answering most of them; she was the smartest in the whole class. She wouldn't even notice if a teacher spoke her name, and each and every one of them had a concerned, worried look on their face. It made her sick. She just wanted to get out of the place.

The final bell rang gloriously as the end of the day came, and Kuki, normally the one out last to avoid the stampede, ran out of class headfirst. She wanted to get to her locker as fast as she could so she could get out. Abby had said Kuki was responsible for her own happiness; therefore, she made it a goal to exit the school as soon as possible. It wouldn't make her happy, but it would certainly help diminish a miniscule bit of her depression. That was something, right?

_I won't let anyone get in my way._

She failed that resolution. Once she had grabbed her things, she had ran as fast as she could to the front doors. She had only made twenty steps out of the door and onto the front lawn before Brooke stood before her.

"Why so eager to leave, Kuki? I haven't seen you since the dance. I was hoping we could talk!" Her face revealed that she wanted to do more than she said.

"B-B-Brooke…" Once again she was Kuki the Outcast, the girl she had been before Wally had entered the picture. Her muscles went stiff, her heart beat fast, her eyes focused only on the evil evident on the blonde vixen's face. All else escaped her.

"I heard things didn't work out with Wally," she said, slowly making her way towards her. Like a wolf pack, her friends slowly seemed to appear behind her: Todd, Jared, a few of her random friends, even Selene. Brooke had wished Delilah was there, but she hadn't seen her all day. _Too bad Delilah is absent today. She's really gonna miss out on this…_

Kuki said nothing. But that was no matter to Brooke.

"I heard he broke up with you." She pouted and mocked Kuki in a babyish voice, "Is that true? Did he leave you? Poor baby! If only you had stayed out of his way…"

"I-I-I have to go…" Kuki muttered, only to find that a ring of spectators slowly gathering around her, making departure all the more difficult. "I-I-I…have to go."

"Yeah, you can go. But only once we're done with you," Brooke said, seizing the back of Kuki's shirt and flinging her back into place. "I wanna see you cry a bit though. I don't think I got enough out of you the other night."

She stepped into Kuki's face. "You gave me a lot of trouble, Sanban. A lot. Of. Trouble."

She began to take a step forward, making Kuki move back. "You humiliated me. You shamed my boyfriend. You hurt my pride. And you never, ever apologized for it. You insulted me. You troubled me. You almost ruined my reputation…"

"W-When d-did I do any of those things?" The question was out of her mouth before she could stop.

"SHUT UP!" A hard, stinging slap was delivered to Kuki's face, causing her to stumble and almost fall. "I'm talking here! You aren't going to say a word until I'm done with you, you hear? You just think you're so freaking special, don't you?"

A pause. Brooke shouted even louder, "Well, don't you?"

"No!" Kuki screamed, hot tears of pain rolling down the red outline of Brooke's hand on her face. "No, I have no idea what makes you think that! I've never thought-!'

_Slap! _"Don't lie to me!"

"I'm not, I-"

_Slap!_

This time Kuki's stumbling sent her falling to the ground harder than she could've imagined. It knocked the breath out of her so much she felt like dry-heaving.

"Worthless, stupid bitch! Did you really think that once Wally came along your life would magically change? As if you were in some fairytale? Did you really think that thanks to him you could just ignore me, and do whatever you pleased? You! Little! Outcast!" She kicked at her side with every word.

"Why are you d-doing t-this?" Kuki cried out, pain erupting in her thigh.

"To teach you a lesson, Sanban! You don't seem to understand that you will always and forever be a worthless outcast! You wanted to rise in the ranks, and take my place, you can't lie to me!"

"You're lying, not me!" she cried.

"DON'T TALK BACK!" She kicked her again. "How dare you call me a liar?"

"How dare you!" her crew seemed to repeat behind her, calling her names. "How dare you!"

"It seems to me that you've forgotten your place in the world, Kuki. I'm here to remind you of that place. And that place is at the bottom of the food chain, along with the worms and the rats. You and Wally are over, forever. He doesn't love you anymore! Pretty soon he'll realize how much of a worthless bitch you are and thank me for breaking the two of you up. Then he'll find another girl, a better girl, any girl would do. And he'll be happy, because you will finally be out of his life, out of it for good! _Forever!"_

* * *

He had heard it from his locker. He wasn't sure how he had even come to hearing it. Ever since lunch, he had blocked out everything: his senses, his classes, even where he was walking. All his mind thought of was her, her, her. Kuki, Kuki, Kuki. He couldn't stop thinking of how much he loved her, how much he wished they didn't have to end. He kept thinking of excuses for why it was for the best, only to think again about how happy she had made him. He especially dwelled on his broken promise, of the letter he had wrote that she had now read at least a dozen times. He remembered how he had rewrote the letter five times, and only permitted the fifth one to suffice due to the cramping of his hand. He remembered how he had locked himself up in his room for hours on end, writing and writing and writing everything he could to let Kuki know how much she meant to him and how much of it was still so, so true. He remembered how giddy he had felt after writing it; imagining Kuki's reactions to the letter and what she would do when she saw him.

He had been so happy.

_But happiness came with a price that I just couldn't pay. I wasn't good enough. I couldn't help her, and I asked for too much._

He failed to notice all of the sudden hustle and bustle that went around him, shouts and gossip filling the halls with a never-ending noise. He failed to notice the crowd that grew bigger and bigger around the exit of school, everyone trying to leave to see what was going on outside. All he focused on was his sorrow, until Connor and Delilah came rushing towards him.

"WALLY!" Connor yelled, his sneakers squeaking the floor from him sliding to a stop in front of him, Delilah behind him. "Wally, Wally, what're you doing? Don't you know what's going on?"

"Get the hell away from me, traitor," Wally growled, slamming his locker closed with a deafening clang. "I hate you."

"Well, save the hate for later!" Connor yelled back. "Kuki is in trouble and she needs you, now!"

"What, what do you mean?" Wally said, his heart no longer beating. "What's going on?" Suddenly, he noticed all the chaos around him. "What's everyone so excited about? What have you done?" Wally grabbed Connor by his shirt and pressed him against his face, snarling. "What did you do!"

"Connor didn't do anything!" Delilah said defensively. "It's Brooke, and everyone else! She's beating her up! Kuki needs you, and she needs you NOW!"

"What? Where is she?" The same terror that Wally got the night of Brooke's party returned with a vengeance. Already he was running with Connor and Delilah, following them. "What's happening?"

"Apparently Brooke thinks Kuki needs to be taught a lesson, and Kuki is giving all the wrong answers! They're at the front lawn! We gotta hurry!" Connor informed him. Wally outran them both, and bolted out the door after pushing people away like a row of dominoes.

He broke his promise about Kuki never being alone again, but he would die before breaking his promise of protection. And, in a way, he realized, she wasn't alone in that perspective.

He came upon a crowd that seemed like thousands of students. They formed a ring around the victim and her captor, and they weren't doing anything at all to help. They just watched.

_They're just watching!_

He began trying to make his way to her, but it was almost impossible. It was like trying to get through a thick wall of steel chains. He had to use his strength to get through. He was not the only one trying to help though: Connor and Delilah followed him, while Abby and Hoagie (who just arrived upon hearing the news) tried cutting in on the opposite side.

The crowd was relentless.

Getting through would prove to be no easy task.

* * *

_Why are you doing this? Why are you letting them hurt you? Do something, do something now! Isn't this what Wally always told you not to do? Why won't you get up? _Kuki screamed in her head. _Why are you so afraid that you won't even run away?_

Great fear sometimes immobilized people from going into action. The fear paralyzes them, and keeps them frozen even though their minds are screaming at them to run. The body doesn't respond, the terror overcomes the victim so much that he or she can't even act rationally. This was the case with Kuki Sanban.

A trigger was needed to start up the storm.

"What's this?" Brooke asked her, suddenly stopping from kicking and shouting insults at her. She bent her knees, and Kuki prepared herself for another blow before realizing that was not Brooke's intention. Todd and Jared, who were now holding her down to keep from getting up, looked over to see what it was Brooke had grabbed in her hand. Kuki gasped when she saw what it was.

"My letter!" she screamed. "That's my letter! G-Give it to me! Please, give it back!"

"A letter? This is a letter?" Brooke asked, her eyes now looking at the worn-out paper greedily. "Sounds like it's really important to you. Why would that be? Is it from someone special?"

"That's not for you to read!" Kuki shouted, fighting the boys' resistance. "That's mine! G-Give it back! I'm begging you!"

"Why, it _is _a letter!" she said, opening it up.

"Don't read it!"

"And it's from Wally, no less!"

"STOP READING IT!"

Her thrashing was too much for Jared to take, who no longer could maintain a grip on her. Her armed pulled free from his grasp, and before he could try to get her again, Kuki pushed him using her free hand onto the ground with a _thud! _"Leave me alone!" she said, now managing to free her arm from Todd.

"Why you little-" Todd said, furious that a weak girl like her was fighting against him. He grabbed her shoulders. "Stay put, you little worm!"

Kuki kicked him in the gut. "Let. Me. GO!" she screamed, knocking him to the ground with the kick. For the first time, Kuki had hit Todd Crawford.

Kuki had hit Todd Crawford!

He fell against the ground on his back, a footprint now on his sport coat.

Brooke ignored it all, too interested into the letter. Her eyes scanned the letter faster than the speed of light, relishing in her new find.

"Well, well, well! No wonder you treasure this letter of lies," Brooke said, turning her eyes to Kuki. "It's so very touching!" She mocked Kuki with fake enthusiasm. "'Kuki, I love you,' he says. 'I'll never leave you,' he says. 'You're beautiful and smart and talented and I never want you to give up', he says!" She let out a boisterous laugh. "Such NONSENSE! Do you really believe this crap? It may have been true once, but now, after he's finally dumped you? You really think he still means all of this? That's hilarious! He broke up with you! You think he still…" Another laugh. "Loves you? You think he still loves you? He probably hates you by now!"

Brooke knew it was a lie, but she had always been good at convincing Kuki to believe in lies. "I mean, think of all you put him through; you practically ruined his life! His whole reputation is ruined because of you! He could've been happy with us; he was supposed to be one of the cool crowd, with me. But you tainted him with your…with your _filth. _And now he has no chance of ever redeeming himself. He may still love you now, but he's bound to hate you once he gets over you." She gave Kuki a body check.

"And considering what it is he's getting over (AKA you), that shouldn't take too long."

Wally, who was hearing every word of the conversation, wanted to roar with anger and tackle Brooke the bitch and all of her lies. _She doesn't know how I feel at all! And she's trying to get Kuki to believe it!_

He was about to yell something, get himself into the scuffle, but a hand stopped him from propelling forward.

"Don't."

He turned back to find Abby standing behind him. "Who are you?" he snarled, too worried about Kuki to care about his tone. "And what makes you think you can tell me what to do?"

"Calm down, boy, I'm a friend. And that tone isn't going to scare me either, if that's what you're hoping."

Wally ignored how familiar the girl was and found Hoagie beside her. "This your friend? Can ya tell her to let go of me?"

"She is, and no can do, Wally. I'm on her side. We were going to let you show those guys whose boss, but…" He glanced at the scene.

"But what?" he asked irritably. "You're just gonna let Kuki suffer? Because I won't! She means too much to me for me to-"

"Give her a chance," Abby said. "Look at Kuki. Look at her face."

Wally obeyed, thinking if he listened to her, he would be able to get her to leave him alone so he could get to her.

Then he understood.

The look in her eyes was something he had never seen before.

_She's going to fight back…_

His mouth began to curl into a smile.

_She's getting ready to fight back!_

* * *

Kuki wasn't used to getting angry. She remembered she had always been seldom angry, but had terrible bouts of anger when things were too much for her. She hadn't had a fit like that since she was thirteen.

She didn't know just how angry she was getting. She didn't know just how fierce her eyes were.

"You're wrong," she said boldly, though the fear inside her was not yet diminished. "You're wrong! Wally…He loves me!"

Brooke cackled yet again. "And what makes you think that? He dumped you this morning like trash! Left you in the dirt, gave you the cold shoulder! This letter…"

She gingerly took the worn paper between both her hands and pinched the corners with her thumbs and index fingers. Slowly, the top began to tear.

"This one last confession from your so called _boyfriend…"_

Kuki heard herself gasp. "Don't-!"

Knowing she had reached a weak spot, she grinned…She held the letter even tighter than before…

"Means _nothing _now!"

"NO!" Kuki screamed.

In a mere nanosecond, the paper was torn in half.

Brooke threw it to the ground as if it disgusted her, and like smothering the smoke from a cigarette, crunched the two halves between her feet, rubbing it against the dirt.

_It's ruined, _Kuki thought, her eyes unable to tear away from the destroyed remains of Kuki's love letter from Wally. _It's ruined, gone forever…It was the only thing I had left of us…._

Her insides began to boil, sizzling in anger that had been jailed inside of Kuki. It was like a dragon in chains that had been struggling against its imprisonment for ages, until the chain

Finally

Just

SNAPPED.

"What…" she began, her voice now a growl that had never been used with her. "did I ever do to deserve this…?"

Suddenly her head snapped up and met directly with Brooke's eyes. Her mouth was set in a scowl, and her eyes flashed with fury and hurt. Brooke couldn't ignore the sudden chill that went up her spine, but stood her ground.

"What did I ever do to you?" Hot tears flowed from her eyes, though this time they did not show Kuki as weak. This time, they gave her a look of passion and fierceness. "Why do you always have to hurt me? I don't understand!"

She stomped towards Brooke. "That letter was the last piece of hope I had left from him! It's the only thing that gave me even a small sense of happiness! Why did you have to take that away from me? WHY? I can't take it anymore you, you, you…monster! I…I hate you!"

It was almost like flames seem to erupt from Kuki's body, like a divine higher power was finally giving Kuki the strength to finally fight. She was an angel that was finally given her wings to fly.

At least, they were in Wally's eyes. _C'mon, Kuki, fight! You can do it! _His hands turned to knuckles as he strained his neck to see what was going on.

"You hate me?" Brooke smiled as if it were a joke. "You think I care what you have to think of me, outcast? Your anger just makes me want to laugh. You can get as mad as you want, but nothing you ever do will change the way everyone thinks of you. Your hate for me is not even close to the amount of hate everyone has here for you. Not. One. Bit."

"But I did nothing to deserve it!" Kuki screamed. "Nothing! I didn't do anything! I don't deserve it!"

"It doesn't matter whether you did anything or not, Sanban!" Brooke yelled, jabbing her finger at her. "It's just a fact of life! You're a screw-up, an outcast, trash, a pathetic wannabe! You have always been that, and you always will be! Just face the facts, Kuki! Once a loser, always a loser!"

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" The imaginary flame seemed so real that it grew bigger with each yell. Her hands clapped over her ears. "I don't want to hear it anymore! I don't, I-"

A gush of wind sent the bits of paper into the sky, and Kuki watched them dance above her, above everyone, swirling in circles like yellowing leaves in the fall. Though the pieces were small and withered, Kuki could still read the blocky handwriting that had been so lovingly placed upon them…

_Love. Beautiful. Perfect. One and only. Amazing. Heart. Talented. _

Her eyes widened.

_Happiness, Kuki. Go for it._

_Grow wings._

"What are you looking at Sanban? Can't you see I'm talking to you here?"

"For as long as I can remember, I've let everyone here treat me like garbage," she said, still gazing at the sky, the moon visible even in the light of day. She focused on it, the sun in her peripheral vision. Gazing upon it and not allowing herself to look at the ring of people around her gave her a strange sense of peace and courage.

"You hurt me. You insult me. You tease me, trick me, and abuse me! And not just you Brooke, but all of you!" she said, spreading her arms wide and looking all around her. "All I ever wanted was friends, and a family that actually cared, but you wouldn't let me have it! No matter how much I cried and begged you to leave me alone, you refused because you were afraid of how it would affect you personally! You were afraid of becoming me, a loser with _nothing _and _no one,_ someone whose life is so miserable that she can't even bear to get out of bed some days because she's got a whole day of loneliness and abuse to look forward to!"

"I did nothing to you!" Her gaze from the sky broke away, only to land immediately back at the girl that had turned everyone against her for years. "I have always been a good person, someone who tries to do the right thing whenever she can, but all I get for it is punishment! Abandonment! Sadness and loneliness and anger and self-loathing! And the pathetic thing is…"

She blinked, trying to keep herself from crying, "is that I can't even _blame _you for it, because it's all my fault!"

Brooke, who had been taken aback by Kuki's sudden demeanor, smirked. "That's right!" she agreed, nodding. "It _is _your fault, Kuki, because you are who you are! You can't change that!"

But Kuki only shook her head. "No, Brooke. You've got it all wrong. It's my fault because I _didn't _change. I let you persuade me into thinking I was who you said a was: a pathetic outcast with nothing to hold on to. I accepted it, and made no attempt to stop you from torturing me. I never stood up for myself. Instead of relying on myself for my happiness, I hoped and prayed that happiness would come to me instead. And in a big, life-changing way, it did."

Somehow, she didn't need to search for him. It was like she already knew where he was in the crowd, despite all the people crowded about in a tight circle. She found his face, and locked eyes with his. He let her, and gazed back at her with a look so compassionate and loving she found her throat going sore from the emotion of it all. It encouraged her to go on.

"Wally came along, and he showed me a world where love and happiness wasn't as far away as it seemed." Her voice was no longer angry, but woeful and regretting and loving all the same. "He told me everything I had ever wanted to hear, and gave me all the affection I craved when I had had none beforehand. He befriended me, and gave me a chance to change for the better. He loved me, and I loved him. And even though it's over between us, we still do. But it's because I didn't take that chance to change that I lost him. I still let everyone stomp all over me. I expected him to love me without doing anything about what was going on around me, and I should've known that was impossible. I even knew I was supposed to change too, but I was too scared to stand up to you. I was too scared to change, because I still believed I was who you said I was, and that it wouldn't work. Wally had tried so hard to give me the confidence I needed to make things better for myself, but I never accepted it, because…"

She made a strange sort of gasping, sobbing sound before continuing. "…It is _so _hard to love yourself when everyone else seems to hate you. Instead, it makes you hate yourself too, even when the hate isn't even deserved."

She still held Wally with her gaze until she felt her shirt collar being gripped into Brooke's fist. "And _what, exactly, _makes you think you don't deserve that hate, you lying little dork? If you're right (which you aren't) and are only treated the way you are because you won't change, then doesn't that just make you a pathetic loser anyway? Only idiots don't know how to make things better!"

"Maybe…" she said sadly, trying to ignore the frightened beating of her heart. She took a deep breath and took another gamble for her life. "But I'm not the only one that's pathetic, Brooke. Only losers abuse their popularity to bring others misery. Only losers get their kicks out of other's pain."

Immediately after Kuki said that, she realized the risk of the words she just used. _I am going to die. Today is the day that I'm going to die._

Her prophecy seemed like it would come true too, if one looked at the face of Brooke Sanders. Her face was red from anger and utter embarrassment, for Kuki's words had put a dazzling effect on the crowd around them. People started to whisper, some even nodding as if to agree with Kuki. Whispers surrounded them like a cloud, occasionally even ringing with a laugh or two. It wasn't every day that Brooke was challenged by one of her own victims.

"You realize that you've just persuaded me to kill you, right?" Brooke breathed. "Because that's what I'm going to do…" She breathed in one more time before shouting,

"I'm gonna kill you, Sanban!" She pulled back a fist to deliver a punch to Kuki's face. Kuki braced herself for the painful impact, but when she closed her eyes, nothing came because a voice interrupted them.

"Brooke, stop! This has gone way too far!"

Brooke couldn't believe her ears. "Delilah?" she yelped in surprise, turning to see her 'best-friend' behind her. "You're here! I haven't seen you all day! I thought you were sick at home or something!"

"Shows how much you care," Delilah retorted, using a tone of voice she had never used with her before. "If you had really took the time to look for me, you would've found me with Connor this morning."

Wally would've laughed at the irony from it all as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. The look on Brooke's face was priceless. Her mouth looked like it could reach the floor. However, he was too busy thinking about Kuki and what she was doing.

And how he believed she was finally changing. She was beginning to believe him…And was maybe even beginning to love herself. Or at least trying to.

"Connor? You were with him, the traitor?"

Delilah laughed. "You talk as if he just took the throne to your kingdom or something! Then again, you do think you're a queen."

"I'm Queen of the Fall Dance, something you never were! Dee, why are you doing this? Why are you being so mean to me, and standing up for-for her!" she said, gesturing towards Kuki. "I'm your best friend! You're supposed to stand by _me!"_

"Best friends? We were _never _best friends! All you ever did was make me feel bad about myself and obey your every command! You never cared about what I wanted or considered my feelings! You just did what made you come out on top! Well, I'm done! I regret ever even talking to you, and thinking that you were as wonderful as you say you are. Kuki, I'm on your side. I'm sorry for everything I ever did to you. Don't listen to Brooke and her lies."

"Why you-!"

"I won't," Kuki said, tearing herself free from Brooke's grip on her. "I'm _sick _and _tired _of letting everyone ruin my life," she answered. "I'm tired of being hurt by the same people over and over again! I just can't take it anymore!"

Her body began to wrack with sobs, but she stood firm and refused to look away from everyone. "So just leave me alone, or I'll…"

Kuki was never good with threats, even when she was a happy-go-lucky kid. "I'll…I'll do something!" It wasn't a great answer, but it was something, and it thrilled Wally to no end.

_Kuki!_

"Like what?" Brooke yelled. "I see you've already turned my friends against me! Well, fine! But if you think this will make things better, then you're wrong! You've always been wrong! Take this!"

She swung a punch at Kuki, who yelped and managed to leap out of the way. "No, wait, I don't want to hurt anybody!" she yelled. "Brooke, just stop!"

"Never! Bring it on, bitch! We'll see who's the real loser here!" She aimed at Kuki again, but her natural grace and reflexes once again saved her from being struck. The pattern continued for a while. Brooke tried to strike Kuki, only to miss once Kuki managed to get herself out of the way.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god!" Delilah whimpered, watching Brooke trying to crush Kuki to the ground. She had wanted to help, only to make it all worse. "What should I do what should I do what should I DO?"

"Stand. STILL!" Brooke commanded, trying to aim another punch at her. "How can I hurt you when you keep moving?"

"What makes you think I would even listen to that?" Kuki said, almost sounding sarcastic. "Brooke, please, I'm done with all this!"

"Well, I'm not!" Frustrated at her failed attempts, she turned her head. "Todd! I could use a little help here!"

"Comin' sweetie!" Todd said. He ran to rush to her aid when something suddenly jumped on his back, sending his face to the ground.

"Connor!" Delilah yelled, smiling like he were Superman. There he was, holding Todd down. Connor's frame was a lot skinnier than the football star, so he struggled keeping him down even using his entire body to keep him to the ground.

"Leggo of me, twerp!" Todd yelled, frustrated. "You can't keep me down for long, you're too scrawny for me!"

By this time Wally and the others decided it was now an appropriate time for them to take action. Wally, of course, got their first, and decided he best let the girl named Abby help Kuki, while he would help Connor.

"Oh, we'll keep ya down, alright, ya coward!" Wally added, adding his weight to Connor's. "I've had enough of you to last me a lifetime, and I'm gonna teach you a lesson just like last time! You don't mess with Wallabee Beetles!"

"Why should you care, anyway! I was just gonna get Kuki, and you dumped that bitch! I-"

Wally shut him up by slamming his Todd's head to the ground, making a painful slamming sound that made the nearby onlookers shudder.

"Let's hear you call her that with a couple of teeth missing," Wally speculated. "And I can always knock more out if necessary."

He turned his head towards Connor. "Thanks for that, mate," he said, gratitude showing in his face. Connor smiled, and nodded. "I'm sorry for what I did," he said, growing serious again. "I didn't mean-I swear it just came outta my mouth-what happened to you and Kuki was all my fault and-"

"Shut up," Wally answered. "I've forgiven ya, don't make me change my mind. Just help me and make sure this guy," he motioned towards Todd, "doesn't get back up. I think I knocked him out along with some of his teeth, so you should be good. I gotta help Kuki!"

"Go on, I'll watch him."

"Thanks!"

As Wally rushed off, Connor took a glimpse at some of Todd's pearly whites now spread in the grass. "Wonder if I could sell those to his all-girl fan club…"

Meanwhile, Abby tried to help Kuki, but it was proving difficult. Now Brooke's fans were trying to hold her off, which was proving successful. She couldn't get to them, even though she could have easily knocked the lights out of the girls. But, she didn't want to get her hands dirty as a new student.

"Ya'll get outta my way, Abby doesn't want to fight!" she shouted.

"No!" one of the girls shouted. "This is between Brooke and the outcast! No outside help!"

"What is this, a fight club? Ya'll are crazy!"

Hoagie and Jared were sort-of fighting with each other. While Hoagie was more than capable of putting up a good fight, he was scared of being ripped to shreds by other football players, so he tried to save his energy in case other guys showed up. Jared was scared too, because he was a wimp. He hated to hit in fear of being hit back. Kuki had been the only exception because everyone knew she was too nice to hit back, but now he wasn't sure. He had never seen her stand up for herself the way she was doing during the time; he wanted to stay in one piece if he could.

As for Kuki and Brooke, it was still miss, miss, miss. Brooke's punches and kicks were growing faster and more violent, and sweat began to crawl down her forehead. Fire was in her eyes, but Kuki was just too quick for her. Kuki kept deciding what to do/

_I shouldn't hit her, should I? I've never hit before, I wouldn't know what to do! But I can't just avoid her forever! I didn't want to fight, I just wanted to yell and shout and tell them I'm over it! Will I only get what I want by fighting? Whatever happened to violence not being the answer? Gah, almost missed that punch! There's another one, gotta jump-! Phew! What do I do? _

"Kuki! Get 'er! You can do It!"

It was Wally's voice. "Wally?" she said, while jumping away from Brooke's fist again. "Wally, you came!"

"'Course I did! You didn't think I was gonna abandon you, did you?"

For a split second, the world seem to stop for her. She made the mistake of stopping where she was and looking at Wally, as if they were the only two there. Tears left unshed were finally shed.

"I thought you had."

The heartbroken voice tore at Wally's heart, but he didn't have long to think on it because Brooke had found the distraction she needed. She kicked Kuki right in the gut, and managed to punch her in the face, sending her to the ground.

"KUKI!" Wally, Abby, Hoagie, Connor, and Delilah shouted in unison. Kuki was falling to the ground before Wally rushed to her aid and caught her a second before hitting the ground while on his knees.

Brooke grinned, both evilly and triumphantly. "Who's the loser now, Kuki?" she asked her. "It's always the best of the best that win the fight, and I beat you to the ground like the scum you are! What do you have to say to that?"

Wally and Kuki weren't listening to her. "Kuki!" he said, watching her clutch her stomach and breathe for oxygen. She got the air knocked right out of her. He checked under her chin to find a purplish bruise forming there. "Kooks, are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?"

These questions didn't concern her. "Wally…You're here. Why?"

"Hoagie and his friend over there," he said, gesturing to Abby, "told me what was going on and I rushed as fast as I could to get here. I know that today was…" He gulped. "Really, well, _horrible _between us today, but there was no way I was gonna let them get you. But even then you got hurt. I shouldn't have waited to come to help you, Kuki. I'm so sorry, so so sorry."

"I'm the one that should be sorry! And I am! Oh, Wally, I'm so sorry, I was so stupid! I should've never run away from you at that dance! I was so embarrassed and ashamed, and I had forgotten about everything you taught me! I was so horrified over what happened that everything Brooke said seemed true, and I didn't want to ruin your life anymore with all the stuff I have to go through! I thought you'd be better off without me! I didn't mean to hurt you. And the second I went home I knew I had made a dumb mistake, and I was sure of that when I read the letter. Oh Wally, what you wrote was so beautiful, I was going to keep it forever! I wanted to apologize after reading it, but well-I couldn't make up my mind-I couldn't help but think you'd be better off with another girl, one that wasn't such a problem! I'm so sorry!"

Wally couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I can't believe it, Kuki. I broke up with you because I thought _you _would be better off without _me! _I had helped you all I could with your problems, but it didn't work! I thought you would find someone else that would know how to help you! And I thought that you should learn to love yourself before asking you to love me." His eyes grew watery. "Kooks, I'm sorry too. I was such a jerk."

"What are you talking about? You're not a jerk," Kuki said, surprised at the apology. Wasn't she the only one that had made mistakes. "I'm the one that messed up, not you!"

"Hello, is anyone listening to me! I just totally kicked your ass!" Brooke shouted, not enjoying their ignorance. Abby flashed her a deathly look. "Shut your mouth, fool!" she snapped at her. "Can't you see they're talking?"

"Who the hell are you?" she barked. "Who told you you could talk to me like that?"

"_I _did, 'cause it's a free country! Now shut up!"

Wally and Kuki continued to ignore everything around them. Wally shook his head at Kuki. "No, Kuki, I messed up too. First of all, I shouldn't have expected you to stand up to everyone so quickly when I've only been trying to help you for such a short time. I should know that courage and confidence take a long time to build; I shouldn't have expected you to improve as quickly as I wanted to. That was just stupid and impatient of me. And I never tried to see it from your point of view; I don't know what it's like to be tortured by idiots for years and years. You're right, it _has _to be hard to love yourself when everyone else doesn't give you any. And besides, someone earlier told me it's easier to love other people than yourself anyway," he said, glancing at Hoagie and smiling before gazing back at her. "I should know. I…" He blushed. "I'd do anything for you, because I love you more than I love me."

He blushed harder at the chorus of aaws from around him from the romantic girls.

Kuki's heart jumped at the 'I love you' from him.

"And in that letter I told you'd never be alone because you would always have me. Then this morning I told you we couldn't be friends. Kuki, I broke that promise, and I hate myself for it. I'm only hoping you'll forgive me for it."

He turned to the crowd around him. "And just because I'm being all mushy here doesn't mean I'm a sensitive wishy-washy guy either!" he yelled, blushing and staring extra hard at the starry-eyed girls. "I'm a lean, mean, butt-kicking machine."

He turned back to Kuki. "Sorry for that, got a reputation to keep. But I mean it. All of it. Will you forgive me, Kuki?" He wiped away the tears on her face.

Kuki smiled. "I know you mean it, Wally. Of course I forgive you. Will you forgive me? And…I know you probably just want to be friends, but…I love you so much, more now that all this has happened. Will you please give me another chance?" Her voice shook at the fear of rejection. "Please…" she whispered. "I won't be perfect, I'll still be nervous, but I'll really try this time. I won't run away. Please, Wally. I love you. _Please._"

He gave her a good, hard look. He couldn't ignore the fast beating of his heart from her closeness. He knew she too was telling the truth; her face was so easy to read. He also knew that they would have many obstacles ahead of them; both of them still had a lot to learn about love, and she still had problems that needed fixing, both with confidence and self-defense.

But he loathed the thought of anyone else helping her with that. _I was meant to do that. _

He took her hand, and lifted her head up with the other, and he kissed her. _Hard. _He put everything he had into the kiss, poured all the emotion and love for her into one forceful lip lock. For a few seconds he even gently bit her lip to keep her from separating from him, but he needn't do that. She was already responding the second he embraced her. She kissed him just as hard as he was kissing her, and it was brilliant. The kiss made it seem like they had been separated for years rather than just one, horrible, terrible day. It may have seemed overdramatic and unneeded, but that didn't matter to them. In the kiss, they forgave each other and promised each other a better future for themselves. It was the beginning of a truly beautiful thing.

It was the beginning of Kuki's long awaited lifetime of happiness. She had finally found it in that kiss, surrounded by new friends, embracing the one she loved so tenderly. She was a new woman.

"No, no, no!" Brooke shouted, devastated by what she was seeing. "What're you doing? You two can't get back together! It's not right! This wasn't how things were supposed to work out!"

They embraced for just a few seconds longer before finally separating, though there would be more later. "I love you too, Kuki," Wally said, finally giving her that hug he had wanted to give her in the cafeteria. "I'm proud of ya. You really stood up for yourself today. I think we can really make it work this time. We're off to a good start, after all."

"No! Wally, you're making a big mistake!" Brooke said, tense and sweaty. "She's just going to break your heart again, there's nothing you can do! You're better off without her, save yourself! This isn't what you want! And I'll just ruin it all over for you again, if you get back together! I'm not done with you guys, I always have it my way!"

"I'm not done yet, Wally," Kuki whispered in his ear. He grew surprised and confused, watching her let go of him and get up.

"Brooke, you're embarrassing yourself," Kuki said. She didn't sound mean, just factual. "I-I…" She caught herself stuttering and stopped, taking a deep breath and tried to make herself look bigger. "I'm not letting you have your way this time. I let you ruin everything I had going for me before, but I won't anymore. I love Wally, and I will never let you break us apart again. I can't s-say I'm not afraid of you anymore…" she said. "But from now on…I won't let that stop me!" she yelled. "I've had enough of you! I'm done with you and your games Brooke! So stop now while you can, or you'll regret it!"

"YOU'RE threatening ME?" Brooke asked incredulously. She took a stance to punch her again. "Let me remind you who's boss, shall I?" She aimed to strike her again.

Wally, Abby, and Hoagie were all about to rush to her when they saw that Brooke's fist never reach her target. But this time, Kuki didn't jump away.

She blocked it. She held Brooke's scrawny arm in her hands.

"I won't let you hit me anymore!" Kuki said.

"Let go of me! You can't tell me what to do about it! What can you do to stop me?"

She didn't even argue about it, didn't even blink before a thought came to her mind, something Wally had taught her long ago with a punching dummy…

_Angle arm back, put fist at an angle to protect your wrist…_

Brooke didn't even see the fist come for her. Kuki couldn't even believe what she had done. Her eyes flew wide open and she brought her hand over her mouth in surprise.

"Oh my gosh, Brooke! I punched you! Oh, I'm-"

Wally stopped her. "Don't apologize, Kooks. She deserved it."

Brooke couldn't even speak. Her nose was definitely bleeding, though it wasn't broken. She had no words for the fury inside her. She just let out roar before lunging herself at Kuki, only to have Delilah block her off.

"GET OFF ME, TRAITOR!" she screamed. Delilah was stronger than Brooke, so she easily held her back. "I GOTTA BITCH TO KILL! LEMME AT 'ER! AND WHEN I'M DONE, YOU'RE NEXT!"

Connor, certain that Todd wasn't getting up, came to her side and now kept Brooke from moving. Jared had actually ran away after Hoagie gave him a good kick to the side, and ran home yelping like a dog.

"Face it Brooke, you lost! Give up already!" Connor said.

"NEVER!"

"You guys go ahead," Delilah said. "Go home, we'll take care of this crowd for you. Brooke won't get to you."

Brooke's cheerleaders now looked at Delilah with awe. "Can we help, Dee?" asked Selene. "I could break the crowd up!"

"And I could call the hospital for Todd!" another said.

"That'd be great!" Delilah said, giving them a smile. "I'll take all the help I can get. Thanks!"

The girls smiled at her winningly. She was a _lot _nicer than Brooke! Maybe they had been cheering the wrong girl on…

"Are you sure? We can just leave?"

"Kuki, Brooke can only be held back for so long," she answered. "Go while ya still can."

"You don't need help? But-"

"Girl, go on home," Abby said. "You got some reconciling to do with your man over here," she said, and Wally grinned at her.

"Will you…come with us?" Kuki blushed. "I mean…Friends hang out after school, right? Wally and I do. You could come. A-And you too!" she said, turning to Hoagie. "Y-You're friends with Wally, now, r-right? I-I'm Kuki. I know I'm stuttering, sorry…"

Hoagie laughed. "That's fine! You're cute!" He pat her shoulder. "I already knew your name though. I'm Hoagie. Have we met before?"

She blushed at being called cute. Obviously her defensive self was now gone (though not forever). Though her face was red, she smiled genuinely at him. "Maybe…I'm not sure. I feel the same way about all of you, actually."

"Yeah, me too!"

"Who cares?" Wally said, all of them now steering out of the crowd. Kuki waved Delilah goodbye, certain that she had now just made some new friends. Even the crowd seemed to look at Kuki differently, though they wouldn't approach her for about another year or so.

"Kuki, you _punched _Brooke! You did it! You stood up to her! And it was the most beautiful punch I ever saw!"

She beamed at him. "Was it just like you showed me?'

"_Exactly _like I showed you! It was AWESOME!"

"I agree with him there!" Abby said. "Looked like you were practicing for it."

"Yeah, hope you don't punch me like that," Hoagie said jokingly, though Kuki didn't catch it.

"Oh, H-Hoagie, y-you caught me at a bad time. I NEVER usually hit people, I-"

He laughed. "I'm kidding!"

"Oh! Heh heh…S-Sorry," she rubbed the back of her head. "I don't know how to make friends."

"You sure about that?" Abby asked her. "Man, you really do have a lot to learn. I thought we were friends already."

"Yeah, me too!"

Kuki beamed again, and looked at Wally, who smiled back. "See, Kooks? I told you you'd meet people who'd be your friends. Aren't ya happy?"

She gripped his hand firmly. "Wally," she said lovingly, "I've never been happier."

* * *

After walking and talking, Abby and Hoagie parted ways with the couple. The four of them had really hit it off. Suprisingly, Kuki was rather comfortable with them, but maybe that was because of all that had happened. She really felt like she was really going to change. Things could only get better for her, because the worst had happened. But she had Wally back, and now even some new friends.

Wally and Kuki didn't leave for home. They didn't even have to ask each other where they were going; they just seemed to know they both were headed to the hangout. No words were said on the way there; Wally just grasped her hand firmly, her hand fitting perfectly in his grasp. They weren't in a hurry either, as they took their own sweet time getting there. It was a perfect stroll. Kuki leaned against Wally a tiny bit, their clasped hands leaning against them. Eventually he let go of her hand and put his arm around her. He didn't even care if anyone was watching him showing so much affection towards her. He already kissed her in front of the whole school; this was no different.

They happened to walk by Mr. Melloni's, and the portly, lovable chef took sight of them walking blissfully together. He smiled fondly at his two employees. He wanted to shout out to them, to say hello and remind them they had work on Wednesday, but he refrained. They looked too peaceful together, and he wouldn't have interrupted them for the world. In fact, seeing them together made him think of his early days with his wife. In Italian, he thought, _We were just like that when we first met. I wonder if they will marry?_

He had a good feeling in his gut they would. "It is official," he said to one of his employees. "I am, as an American may say, the King of Love."

His employee rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, you definitely are."

Mr. Melloni hit him playfully with a towel. "Get back to work, sassy boy. Do not be jealous. I will find a girl for you, yes? I will find a Kuki of your own to kiss and hug, hmm?"

The guy smiled. "Alright, sir. Can you make it a redhead?"

"I will try my best!" he said, laughing. He already had a customer in mind.

He truly was a natural-born matchmaker.

Later that night, he even called his wife later, just so they could talk. They reminisced about all the good times they had. It was the best conversation they had together in weeks.

Happiness was something that easily spread.

* * *

They sat, they kissed. He stroked her hair, she laid her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat. They held hands. They kissed some more. They spoke very little, too absorbed in each other to talk, but when they did it was in low and loving. He held her. She held him back. All they did was enjoy having each other.

"We should go home soon," Kuki muttered, her head nestled under his as they laid down, arms around each other.

"But you don't want to," Wally said, letting her jet black hair run through his fingers gently. "I don't either. So why's it matter?"

"Mushi will want dinner."

"I think she'll understand once you tell her."

Kuki smiled. "You're right. It's amazing how much things have changed since you came along. Mushi and I are friends, we have jobs, I stood up for myself-"

"You punched Brooke in the nose. That's my favorite so far."

She chuckled though she thought she shouldn't. "I expected you would. Anyway, don't you have a family to go home to? You know how your mom is about that kind of-"

She was interrupted when she heard her cell phone ring. Wally grimaced at the ring tone.

"The Rainbow Dorky theme song?" he said, sticking his tongue out as if he were sick. "Ugh!"

Kuki jokingly gave him a look and told him to shush. "Hello?" she answered.

"Kuki!" Mushi yelled into the phone, making Kuki jump. Even Wally heard it, and wondered what she wanted. Her voice soundes somewhat distressed. "What happened? One minute I'm walking home from school, and the next Jeanette Sanders is telling me to thank you for beating her evil sister up! What's going on?"

Wally burst out laughing so hard he toppled to the floor.

"Her sister was _happy _about it? Oh my gosh, I wanna meet this kid!" He was so loud Kuki and Mushi on the other line had to wait for him to calm down. Gradually his laughs got quieter and he wiped a tear from his eye. "Okay, go on, go on. I'm done now, heh heh!"

Kuki turned her attention back to the phone. "Mushi, listen, Brooke picked a fight with me today. I had a bad day, she messed with me a little bit, and I got a bit, um…hysterical, I guess."

"More like _freaking awesome!_" Wally exclaimed.

"Is that Wally?"

Kuki grinned wide. "Yeah, it is. Everything's all fixed now."

"He's your boyfriend again?"

"Yeah!"

"Good. I like having someone else to make sure you don't screw things up. Make sure it stays that way, m'kay? You're really annoying when you cry, I was afraid you'd drown the house."

She laughed. "I will, Mushi. I'm coming home now, I'll make you dinner."

"No, you aren't," Mushi said matter-of-factly, surprising her sister. "I'm perfectly capable of making myself something or ordering some food. Go ahead and stay with your boyfriend."

"Really?"

"Yeah, sheesh, I'm trying to be nice here! Do you have to be surprised whenever I'm being nice? Really!"

"Sorry, Mushi. I guess I'm just not used to it yet…"

"I know. Listen, just make sure to stay outta Brooke's way for a couple of days. I talked to Jeanette, and from the sound of it Brooke is trying to get her parents to- and don't panic when I say this like I know you will- sue. But it's gonna be fine. Jean said her parents have been trying to tame Brooke for a while, and our parents work for Brooke's parents. Mom and Dad are their best employees. They're not going to sue anybody."

Kuki let out a held breath. Thank goodness Mushi told her not to panic or she definitely would have. But before she could talk again, Wally snatched the phone from her.

"Don't worry, Mushi," he told her, his voice rumbling. "Brooke isn't going to mess with us anymore." He looked at Kuki and gave her a smile. She smiled back.

"Never again."

On the other end, Mushi grinned. "I'm glad to hear it," she said. "I hated having a sad sack for a sister. I never really thanked you for everything you've done for her, by the way."

Wally's face went blank. "Huh? What did I do?"

"What _didn't _you do?" Mushi asked back. "Do you even _get _how much my sister _adores _you? It's like she's ten years old again; happy and full of life. I never thought I'd get the old Kuki back. I hated her for what she became, and I was afraid I'd turn into that too. But thanks to you, I've got her back, and I don't have to be afraid anymore. You're a regular life-changer, Aussie Boy."

Wally blushed. "Yeah, well…I ain't that great. And your sister taught me a lot too."

"I know," she answered. "I remember you now. I thought I had recognized you when we first met. You're a lot like you were when you were ten; but different too, in a good way. My sister made you a lot more mature, I think. But in a good way…Y'know? Not so…dull, I guess."

"Huh? What're you talking about?" _Mushi didn't know me when I was ten!_

Mushi realized the error of her words. It had just slipped out. _I'm not in the KND, but they know I'm Kuki's sister; reveal any info to any former member and the moonbase will have my hide!_

"Never mind!" Mushi said. "Forget what I said!" Her voice was obviously a fake sort of cheerful. "I don't know what I'm talking about either! What I meant to say is, you're probably a lot more mature now, thanks to my sister. You were probably a dull ten-year-old, after all! It's not like I knew you or anything!"

_Or Hoagie or Abby, for that matter._

"Mushi…Is there something you're not telling me?" Wally asked. Kuki crept closer to Wally, and leaned in to hear. She was suspicious too. "Mushi," Kuki began. "You're acting like you knew Wally when he lived here…"

"I didn't! Seriously!" she cried. "Just a slip of the tongue! I mean it!"

"Mushi…"

"Oh, I gotta go!" Mushi cried again. "My, um…Favorite show is on! Yeah! That's right! _The Totally Stereotypical Show on The Drama of Being a Teenager _is on! The episode where Gracie gets pregnant again is on! Gotta go watch it! Bye!"

The phone went dead.

"That was cruddy weird," Wally said, handing Kuki her phone and reclaiming her hand, interlocking his fingers with hers. "It's like she knows something we don't."

"Maybe we're just thinking too much on it," Kuki said. "But…She's right, you know."

"About what?"

"You," she said, cuddling against him again. "About you changing my life and making me happy again. I really do feel like I'm a little girl again…I finally found the happiness I was looking for."

Wally blushed harder. _My life has turned into an actual Lifetime movie, _he thought. _Mushy and corny…Only I actually like this one._

"Yeah, me too," he said, holding her against him. "I was happy in Australia…But not like this, not really. I love my best mates, but I thought something was missing…But I found it now."

_I'm so cruddy corny! _It was true though. He always thought that something had been missing in his life back in Australia. He had never been truly satisfied with what he was, and what he was doing. He had felt like he wasn't doing anything particularly important with himself, and that half of him was missing. He felt like he needed something in his life to give him purpose, something to love that would love him back no matter what.

He found it in America: his true home.

With each other, they were home.

"Kuki, you really helped change me too. I really am more mature…And more of a softie," he added. "And…I just want you to know that even if we don't make it, we'll always be friends. I'm never going to leave your side ever again."

He felt her smile against him. "I know, Wally…I won't ever run away from you, either. I promise." She held up her pinkie.

Wally smiled at what may be thought as a childish gesture. But he drew up his pinkie as well, and wrapped it around hers. It was a pact between them that they knew they would always keep. A pinkie promise was only childish if it wasn't kept; but this wasn't one of them. That moment, they forever intertwined their fates together, whether they would end up as friends or even more.

Wally pulled her in using only his pinkie to give her another kiss, as if to seal the deal. She eagerly replied, and then they were back to where they were before, kissing and embracing without speaking or planning what to do next. The future was unknown to them. They didn't know how long they had together as a couple, but that was alright with them. There would be no decommissioning this time. They never had to worry about being separated. They knew they would be able to keep their promises. They loved each other too much to break it.

They would always be happy.

* * *

_The Aftermath_

Brooke and Todd broke up the very next day. With a huge ugly neon yellow cast on her nose, Brooke screamed at her former boyfriend in red-hot fury, telling him that he had never defended her when she needed him and that they were through for the rest of their lives. She screamed at anyone else that also got in her way, including Jared, screaming at him too. She was mad he was still seeing Selene, who was no longer a Brooke fan…

Instead she and the other happy wannabees decided to follow Delilah around. They had thought she was so cool, standing up to her former best friend and taking in the reins when Brooke was too ill to claim them. She had handled the situation with such grace and kindness, they exclaimed! How could they have ever thought Brooke was the better of the two?

Delilah was uncomfortable with the newfound popularity. As the rest of the year went by, she and Connor had found themselves up at the top at the Popularity ladder, with Brooke down a few rungs. People still loved Brooke, but not so much as Delilah and Connor. They were now the coolest people in the school. Because of this, Brooke was bitter and unhappy, and as the bitterness grew, her popularity shrunk. Just as it should.

Of course, Delilah and Connor were awesome popular kids, because they were so nice to everybody. Especially their four new best friends: Abby, Hoagie, Wally…

…And Kuki.

Kuki was no longer referred to as an 'outcast' or 'loser' or any of her old nicknames. Now people said hello to her in the hallway, and made sure not to run into her when the hallway was crowded. Now they knew her name, and volunteered to be her partner. But the past was hard to erase, as were old habits. Kuki was still incredibly shy and gentle, so people tended to be extra gentle to her as well. She wasn't used to the kindness for a long time, and mostly was with Wally or her new best friends Abby, Hoagie, Delilah, and Connor. But eventually she would grow to love her classmates, and made sure to say hello to everyone and offer to help with homework. She and Abby even would tie for Valedictorian Senior year.

Brooke would repeat Senior year…She never completed her gym courses, and her math and science grades were not so very desirable.

Hoagie and Abby started going out Junior year, going on a lot of dates solo or double with Wally and Kuki, sometimes even triple with Dee and Connor. They were a lot like Kuki and Wally, all lovey-dovey and all, but in a more casual manner.

Everyone was totally and completely happy. Ecstatic. Joyful.

And years from then, the original four (Hoagie, Abby, Kuki, Wally) would meet a new couple, one they found equally familiar and add to their family: Nigel and Rachel.

Even longer than that, Kuki would find herself at dinner with Wally on twenty-fifth birthday, only to find Wally on his knees with a ring in his hand.

She would find herself finally bonding with her parents, fretting over wedding plans, and asking Abby, Delilah, and now Rachel to be her bridesmaids.

She would find herself walking down the aisle in a pure white dress, walking towards the love of her life, Wallabee Beetles, in a tuxedo gazing at her beauty.

She would find herself bursting out crying during her vows, so unbelievably happy and telling Wally just how much she loved him and how much he had changed her life and brought her the joy she had been seeking her whole life. Wally would cease her crying by kissing her before the pastor even said, "You may now kiss the bride."

Wally and Kuki would find themselves together forever…

They had found their happiness.

* * *

**Thank you to everyone who stuck with me throughout this entire story. I couldn't have done it without you. This was a literary journey I won't ever forget…Thank you for all your kind reviews, and your never-ending patience. This is for everyone, especially the Panda Warriors that urged me on and all my reviewers. Thanks for reading the story of Wally and Kuki, the one I always wanted to tell. Thanks for sticking with me until the end. I think I read every review I got on this story, and guys...My writing wouldn't be what it is today without you. Bless you all.**

**Tater06, out.**


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